Blank Slate
by DrWriter21
Summary: After his first mission, Axel gave some very vague instructions about the corridor of darkness. Now stranded in a new world, Roxas needs to learn how to deal with people who passionately express their emotions, even though he lacks them. Read as this empty shell begins to understand and desire the power of a heart. And who knows, maybe even gain one himself.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Everyone. DrWriter21 here and back with another attempt at a new story. This one has been on my mind for a while now and I wanted to put it on paper for the heck of it. This will probably be my last fanfiction starring Roxas and it will take place just after he was created. So, he will be not only clueless, but a completely blank slate because he only has 7 days of life under his belt.**

 **This crossover is with the daily life with a monster girl(DLWAMG) for the heck of it. I am not expecting this to get much attention because DLWAMG does not have as big a fan base as other fandoms. But I still thought it would be interesting to give this unusual crossover a shot.**

 **Also, I wanted to write this because most of the fanfiction for DLWAMG are so bad. There is little to no originality. Basically, the names are swapped from the main character in the manga with whoever the crossover is with. The dialogue is nearly the same. It's a shame too because there could be some really interesting and original ideas in this world. Even the non-crossovers are hard to read. The only one I really like was the Everyday life of a supporting character. If you have not read it, that is some original content that is very enjoyable to read.**

 **So here goes nothing. If you enjoyed reading, or have any thoughts, please give the story a review. It really helps me with my motivation to write. I want to write a bit more because I want to improve. And lately with my job, I feel like my ability to write is diminishing. So, I am going to try to write a little each day. Not saying I will post each day, but I want to keep writing because I love doing it. So, if you enjoy or just want to leave your thoughts, please do so in a review. Thanks!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Warning: As always, this is not a professional work, so there will be spelling and grammar errors here and there. You can tell me all you want that this story has them, but it is unlikely that I will go back and change it. There are other areas of writing that I would rather improve.**

 **Update: Just changed Kurusu to Kimihito. Someone was nice enough to tell me Kurusu was his surname rather than first. Thank you Truenecromancer**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 1: Day 8

"For the seven days since my arrival, the name Roxas and the number 13 were all I had. Who the people around me were, what they wanted, or what they were trying to do."

"I had no idea."

Roxas could be found staring blankly at the ground with Axel standing a few steps behind him. They had just received another mission, which they were preparing for. The dark sky and heart shaped moon could be seen from the room of the castle in the world that never was.

However, they were not the only ones in the room. Roxas's gaze rose slightly as he noticed another person standing there in front of him. The newest member of Organization 13.

Number 14. Xion.

Their eyes seemed to lock for a second before Xion's head tilted downward a bit more, allowing her hood to cut off the eye contact. However, in that brief exchange, Roxas noticed something about her eyes.

They were as empty as his.

Ever since he had joined the Organization 7 days ago, Roxas was told that the way he was created was rather peculiar. He was a nobody that lacked memories. And because of this, he wasn't that different than your run-of-the-mill Nobody. He simply took orders, did as he was told, and never asked questions.

However, he was extremely observant. He noticed that other members of the organization could remember their past lives. He could see some of them trying to mimic the personality they had before they lost their hearts. That's what made them different than your average Nobody.

But Roxas didn't have memories. He didn't have emotions. He didn't have anything.

That's why, for the first time, Roxas found interest in one of the members of the organization. It was because she was like him. Xemnas never mentioned how or when she was created, but her eyes spoke volumes instead. How could he not recognize them? They were the same kind of eyes he saw every morning in the mirror.

"What's wrong? You worried about the new kid?" Axel asked as he took a couple steps forward. "What was that name again?"

"Number 14. Xion." Siax droned out, with a touch of annoyance in his tone.

"Riiiight. I knew that."

Roxas continued to stare at the new member. "Xion." He said quietly.

"Got it memorized Roxas?" Axel asked, walking right up next to his fellow nobody.

"Yeah."

"Yeah? How bout' my name then?"

"Axel."

"And how about our boss's name huh?"

"Xemnas."

"No way you're going to forget his name, right?" He asked, not allowing Roxas to even respond before he stretched forth his hand. "Let's go."

A pillar of darkness erupted from the ground, forming an oval like portal. This was the Organizations favorite method of transportation.

The corridor of darkness.

Axel led the way into the corridor and was quickly followed by Roxas. The portal disappeared behind him, leaving only Siax and Xion standing there in the room. Siax glanced at the newest member of Organization 13 before he gave a small grunt of distaste and left the room.

Xion stared at the area where the corridor had been before she whispered one world.

"Roxas."

* * *

It was your completely average and boring mission. They were tasked with finding a few treasures and killing a few heartless in twilight town. In the seven days since Roxas had arrived, the members of Organization 13 had trained him relentlessly to fight. He was there precious Keyblade master after all. They could not allow some weak heartless to kill him off.

But even so, it seemed that he had inherited a lot of the skills his Somebody had. Roxas easily caught onto combat and wielded the Keyblade easily. Heartless fell at his feet in clusters without him even breaking a sweat. He was becoming a powerful member of Organization 13 already.

It didn't take long to complete the mission. With the Organization blocking off any waterway exit, they were forced to stay on task and find the treasure quickly. Sure, heartless popped up in there way every so often, but they were easily taken care of by Roxas and Axel. When their mission was over, instead of returning right back to the castle, Axel had a different idea.

* * *

"The icing on the cake." Axel said as he handed the ice cream bar over to the newly born nobody. Roxas glanced over at Axel for a moment before looking at the desert. He slowly reaching out and took it. He observed Axel take a large bite from the corner of his own treat with a small smile on his face. Roxas found it interesting that the Nobodies who remembered their past lives missed having emotions so much that they pretended to have them. That was something Roxas didn't understand. Were feelings that great? Was that the reason why Organization 13 was working so hard? The first thing he ever remembered was Xemnas giving him his name and number. Before that, there was nothing else.

Looking down at the ice cream in his hand, he just stared at it like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"You remember what this ice cream is called?" Axel asked.

"It's um…"

Axel gave a disgruntled sigh as his pet peeve was touched. He really didn't like it when people didn't remember things. His entire body drooped dramatically as he glanced over at Roxas. "Sea-Salt Ice cream. I already told you before." He said as he reached up and tapped his temple. "Get it memorized."

Roxas didn't pay much attention to Axel's words as he took a bite from the corner, allowing the familiar salty sweet flavor to wash over his tongue again.

"It's salty…but sweet."

Axel couldn't help but laugh at the Nobodies antics. "Roxas, you said the same exact thing the other day."

Roxas's face scrunched in confusion. "I did? I don't remember."

"So, what has it been? A week since you joined the Organization?"

"I guess…it has."

"You guess it has?" Axel asked. He almost felt sorry for his nobody companion. He really was completely blank, far more empty than other members of the Organization. "c'mon you must remember that much." He said as he looked back at the sunset. "Well, here you are, finally out in the field working for the organization."

"For the organization…"

"You might even say that today is where it all really beings for you."

"Where it all begins…"

Axel never knew how right he was when he made that statement to the empty nobody.

* * *

It was later that Axel and Roxas finished off their bars of ice cream. They were back in the waterway, ready to return to the castle. However, before they returned to the castle, Axel decided to train Roxas a little more before the day was over.

"Alright Roxas," Axel said, getting the nobodies attention. "The corridor of darkness is the main way the organization travels to places. Got it memorized?" He asked as he tapped his temple again.

Roxas simply nodded.

"Now then, you need to learn to open these corridors to get to places. There may be times when you get separated from your partner and you gotta return without them. Why don't you give it a shot?"

Roxas looked at him Blankley. "How?"

"It's simple." Axel said as he cast his hand to the side. Immediately the ominous corridor formed from the ground. Its wispy entrance beckoned them to enter. "Nobodies can manipulate the darkness like the heartless, remember? It's all in the flick of the wrist."

Roxas watched as the corridor disappeared before he glanced over at axel.

"Now it's your turn. Focus the darkness and open the portal." Axel said vaguely.

Again, Roxas hesitated, not sure what he was doing. He extended his hand, trying to focus the power under his command. It was a little shaky, but puffs of Smokey darkness started to form around the area before eventually the corridor erupted from the ground. He blinked a few times, surprised that worked.

Apparently, Axel was also surprised as he gave a low impressed whistle. "Right on Roxas!"

Roxas didn't say anything before he took a couple steps forward. Axel followed behind, but just as they were about to enter, smaller corridors appeared around them. The corridors vanished and in their place where small shadow heartless.

Axel gave a sigh as he summoned his fire Chakrams. "Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs." He grumbled as he turned to Roxas. "Seems the heartless haven't had enough for today. Why don't you go back first and rest? I will clean up the rest."

Roxas hesitated, but there were only a few heartless and he knew Axel was capable of defending himself. So, he turned back to his corridor and walked through. The corridor vanished right behind him, leaving Axel surrounded by the low level heartless. He gave a small grin as his Chakrams started to rotate in his hands, fire roaring to life before circling himself and his weapons.

"BURN BABY!"

* * *

Roxas didn't know what to expect when he exited the corridor of darkness. Axel only told him to open a corridor, which he did. He didn't know where it would take him. He was just following orders and did as he was told. What he didn't expect was to exit the corridor, only the be met with a loud noise coming right in his direction. He only managed to turn his head before he noticed a large vehicle heading straight for him.

Now, nobodies weren't supposed to feel anything, but Roxas swore he felt his heart leap into his throat as he saw the car racing speeding straight at him. He barely managed to leap into the air, completely hurtling over the car before landing back on the ground. It didn't stop there though. More cars were racing towards him, the drivers frantically honking their horns while trying to either swerve away or screech to a halt.

Roxas quickly leaped out of the way, hurtling the different vehicles and evading extremely close calls with other cars. Eventually, he dove onto the sidewalk. His heart was racing for the first time in his life. It felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. Slowly looking over his shoulder, he noticed that a few cars had stopped and people were shaking their fists at him while screaming obscenities.

The corridor had taken him right into the center of a highway. He had nearly been hit by a few of those vehicles. Why did the corridor take him here? Where was he?

Roxas didn't get the chance to wonder for long as he felt something lock around his wrist. He glanced down to notice there was something shiny and metal that bound his hands together. He then looked up to see a man standing there in a blue and black uniform. The words POLICE printed on his upper breast pocket.

"What the hell were you thinking?" The man demanded, shouting in Roxas's face. "You don't just play in traffic like that kid, especially in a busy highway. You could have gotten yourself killed! You could have caused the death of someone else!"

Roxas didn't really know what to do in this situation. This was not only the first time he had been screamed at like this, but this was also the first time he had seen another person other than members of the organization. His befuddlement left his speechless.

"You should be ashamed of yourself! Who are your parents? Where are you from?" He demanded.

Roxas blinked a few times and was about to open his mouth, but them he remembered something Axel told him a couple days after he was brought on.

 _"_ _Roxas, this is important. When we visit other worlds, we can't let people know where we are from."_

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _Axel waved his hand lazily. "Ehh, just something about meddling. Honestly, people would just ask annoying questions if you let them know. So don't let people know, got it memorized?"_

 _"_ _Yes…"_

Roxas closed his mouth when he remembered that particular memory. He remained silent which caused the police man to become extremely agitated.

"Nothing to say for yourself? You will be held in a juvenile detention center until you talk. Is that what you want?" He roared.

Roxas just looked at him blankly, showing that he really didn't care what this guy had to say. This just proved to further infuriated the man.

"Alright, you leave me no choice. Come with me. I will get you to talk one way or another." He growled as he grabbed the cuffs and started to drag Roxas away. The poor nobody still didn't know what to do in this situation. All his life, he always had at least one member of the organization at his side to tell him what to do, but now he was alone. He had no instruction from the organization. All he had was a name and a number. That was it.

So, he just allowed the police man to drag him away to wherever they were going. After all, what else was he supposed to do?

* * *

Axel was having a great day. He was able to eat some of his favorite ice cream, chill with the new guy, then let loose on a few low levels heartless. It was a nice way to unwind after the day. He walked up the stairs, heading to Roxas's room before he noticed Siax walking down towards him.

"Hey, mission complete." Axel said "Roxas did good."

"Where is Roxas?" Siax asked.

Axel blinked a few times in confusion. "What do you mean? He should have returned before I did."

"He has not been seen since you left with him on your mission. Where is he Axel?" Siax said more firmly.

Axel scratched the back of his head in annoyance. "Chill out. It's a big castle. He is probably wandering around somewhere."

"Unlikely, members know they are supposed to report to me right when they finish their mission." Siax said, his irritation rising.

Axel bit the inside of his cheek. Siax had a point. Roxas may be forgetful sometimes, but the reporting process was drilled into his head almost literally by the berserker nobody.

"He should have come right here after he summoned the corridor." Axel responded.

"And yet he is not here. You said he summoned the corridor?"

Axel nodded as he scratched his chin.

"Did you show him how to do it?"

"Yeah."

"Did you specifically tell him to concentrate on opening a corridor to the castle?"

Axel paused as he recalled his instruction to Roxas. He eyes widened slightly when he realized he never did say anything about that. "That's supposed to be common sense." Axel tried to justify.

Siax was quiet for a few seconds, but you could tell by the slightly blue wisps of energy coming off his body that he was not pleased.

"Axel, he was created seven days ago. He has no memories of his past and he has no emotions. Do you really think he would have any common sense whatsoever? He is no different than the regular nobodies who can hardly act without instruction from us." Siax seethed.

Axel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Damn it!"

"And now, you say he opened a corridor of darkness without a destination in mind. You do realize doing that could send him anywhere in the stars. Do you realize how long it is going to take to find him?"

"Whoa Whoa!" Axel said with a calming gesture. "Relax. I'm sure he will just open another corridor and come back here."

"Will he?" Siax asked "Does he even know that you have to concentrate on a destination while opening the corridor to get back here?"

"It's common sen…" Axel tried again before his words died in his mouth.

Siax clenched his teeth as he turned around and began to ascend the stairs. "Find him! The organization needs the Keyblade. If our cause is lost because of you…" He said as he turned around and leveled Axel with the hardest glare he could manage. "I will destroy you. Got it memorized?"

* * *

It was a usual day at work for Mrs. smith. Loads of paperwork littered her desk and she was just about to sneak out of her office to go pester Kurusu for lunch. She would have been successful too if her phone hadn't just rung. Giving a disgruntled sigh, she reached over and picked it up.

"Culture exchange coordinator, Mrs. Smith speaking." She said blandly into the phone.

"Smith, the police chief of Tokyo wants ta' yack with ya. Are ya in?" The voice on the other end of the phone said.

Mrs. Smith groaned as she rubbed her eyes. "Um…Sure? What is going on Zombina? Did another Liminal decide to use the law to their advantage again?"

"Nah, don't think they would be that stupid ta' try again just yet. But he says they caught another Liminal without its host."

"Really?" Mrs. smith said as she leaned back in her chair. "What kind? Lamia? Dradonewt? Those ones were always a pain in the ass."

There was a pause for a moment as a background conversation could be heard over the phone. "He says he doesn't know. He looks exactly like a human."

That perked smith's interest as indicated by a slight rise of her eyebrow. "Another Zombie then?"

"Smith, Stop being difficult and get yer ass down here."

"Yesh, fine." Smith said as she hung up the phone with a sigh. "And here I was hoping to see how darling was doing." She gave a small chuckle at her own joke before exiting the office.

It didn't take but a few minutes before Smith was downstairs and sitting in front of the chief of police. The chief was a burly man with a dark brown hair and a mustache. You could tell he was a bit irritated at the moment.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure?" smith said as she took a sip of tea from one of the two cups on the table.

"You already know. I found another Liminal wandering around without its host." He said as he reached into his coat pocket. He then pulled out his phone before scrolling through the pictures until he found the one he wanted. "Do you recognize this kid?"

Smith sighed as she glanced at the phone. The picture was of boy with spikey golden hair. He had a very blank look on his face and his eyes were crystal blue. He didn't have a single feature about him that made him look different than an ordinary human.

"Well…What is he? He looks human to me. That doesn't fall under my jurisdiction." Smith said as she leaned back in her chair, taking another sip of tea.

"That's what I thought too, but take a look at this." Chief said as he scrolled through the video files on his phone before selecting one. He then turned his phone to Smith again as the video feed started to play.

The video was of a nearby highway. It looked like any regular feed until a pillar of darkness appeared in the middle, right in front of an oncoming car. The darkness was replaced by the boy with golden hair. The boy had just a fraction of a second to respond before the car would hit him. With complete inhuman agility, he managed to completely leap over the car much to Smith's amazement. He then weaved through the traffic without so much as a scratch before landing on the sidewalk. The feed ended with the local police officer screaming in his face.

Smith was stunned. She had never seen something like that before, and she had seen some really strange Liminal in the past.

"Does this answer your question?" Chief asked.

Smith nodded her head as she stared at the freeze frame of the boy being dragged away by the officer.

"How long ago was this taken?"

"Just yesterday. He has been in our custody since."

Smith cocked an eyebrow at him. "And you just informed me now?"

"We didn't think he was a Liminal. But when he refused to say anything, we had to look back at the feed to see what he was doing in the middle of the highway in the first place. Needless to say, we were all surprised when we saw the footage."

"You can say that again." Smith said quietly as she thought about the numerous Liminal she had seen over her career. While some could do amazing things, there was always specific qualities about them that made them appear different than humans. This boy looked EXACTALLY like a human. "Haven't you run any tests?"

"This isn't my first rodeo with an unknown Liminal Mrs. Smith." Chief said as he took a swig out of his own tea cup. His DNA test was less than helpful. According to the tests, he is completely human."

"You're joking."

"I wish. It really is starting to worry me. Do you think it could be…" Chief started with a serious gaze in his eyes.

"Oh God, I hope not." Smith said, following the Chief's train of thought. "And he hasn't said anything?"

"Not a single word." Chief replied with an annoyed grunt. "I swear, I tried every tactic in the book to get him to talk, but he is like a brick wall."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing affects him. He rarely shows that he even pays attention. In fact, he doesn't show anything. We haven't even gotten his name. It's like…" Chief paused. "I…don't know how to describe it. The look in his eyes really bothers me."

Smith glanced back at the freeze frame, noticing that the chief was right. This boy's eyes were as blank as blank could be. She had never seen something so…Empty in her life.

"Well…Let me take a crack at it." Smith said as she stood from her spot.

"I was hoping you would say that. We can't hold him forever. Besides, he is just a kid, and from the looks of it, a young one too." Chief said.

Smith nodded as she and chief stood from there spots. "I will meet you back at the station in a few."

* * *

Roxas didn't know what he was supposed to do as he found himself in the room that had been offered him when he first got to this facility. Well…not exactly offered, more like forced. The door was locked, but Roxas knew he could easily get out with his Keyblade. But then what should he do? He hadn't received any instruction from organization 13. No one had come to get him, and he wasn't sure how he could use the corridor of darkness to get back to the headquarters.

Not that he could use it right now anyway. They had taken away his coat and gave him clothing that was more standard for the detention center. He had been told by other members of the organization that the corridors were very dangerous if the coats were not worn.

The people here at the facility were really starting to annoy him as well. They kept asking extremely probing questions and even tried to intimidate him into answering. However, Roxas kept his silence. He had nothing to say to them. In fact, he had nothing to say at all. Because he didn't know how to deal with people screaming in his face, he just sat there and listened to them without saying a word.

His fellow inmates found him rather strange as well. During lunch, a group of boys tried to pick on him because he was new, but he just walked away with disinterest. They were so perplexed that most of them left him be. All except for one, who didn't like that Roxas just ignored him. He tried to clock Roxas in the back of the head. However, the moment the boy's hand collided with Roxas's skull, the wrist folded like an accordion and the knuckles crunched. The boy jumped back and screamed out in pain while holding his broken wrist.

The only indication that Roxas felt anything was an extremely slight jar of his head. He simply looked around at the boy curiously before turning away again. He went up to the food line and got his helping before sitting down alone at a remote table. Everyone else was watching the boy roll around on the floor in pain. After that happened, everyone steered clear of the new guy.

The guards saw what happened, but since Roxas literally didn't do anything, they couldn't punish him. They could only pick the injured boy up and take him to the medical wing.

Roxas on the other hand, was deep in thought. From that little experience alone, he concluded that people here were much weaker than members of the organization. Heck, even spars would usually result in someone being put through a wall and them just walking it off. But after one punch, the boys hand had broken.

And thus, Roxas was back in his room, wondering what he should do now that he was in this situation. It had been a whole day since he arrived here. One whole eighth of his existence was in this place. How was he going to get back to the organization? What was he going to do?

"Boy!"

Roxas was shaken from his thoughts as he looked up to see the familiar face of the chief standing just outside his room. He had his usual frown on his face as he pulled out the keys and unlocked the door. "Come with me."

Roxas didn't have a reason to object, so he followed the chief outside the room and down the hallway of the detention center. They eventually made it to another room where they would usually try to drill answers out of him.

However, when he entered, he noticed that there were a couple other people in the room. One was a rather tall lady with dark hair and sunglasses. The other one was…very peculiar to look at. She had bright red hair, sharp teeth, multi-colored eyes, and a massive stitched scar across her nose. All in all, he had never seen someone quite like her before and he was intrigued.

The girl in question grinned when she noticed him staring at her. "What? Ya never seen an undead before?"

Roxas continued to stare at her before slowly shaking his head, not giving much a reaction to the news.

The chief gave an annoyed grunt. "Well look at that. A shaking of the head. That's the most progress we've had with him since he got here."

Roxas ignored him as he looked at the other woman in the room. She was sitting at the table, her chin resting on her intertwined fingers. "Sit down honey, I want to ask you a few things."

Roxas blinked as he glanced around him, as if to see who exactly she was addressing.

The lady in question giggled when she saw this. "I was talking to you kid. Since I don't know your name, I thought a nickname was in order."

Roxas paused as he listened to her voice. The way she talked was much more clam than anyone else he had met so far in this place. It was almost…inviting.

"N…Nick name?" Roxas asked.

The chief's eyes widened a bit when he heard Roxas say something for the first time. However, the tone in his voice send an unpleasant chill down everyone's spine. It sounded so dead, so devoid of emotion.

Smith was the first to recover. "Yes honey. A nickname. Surly you know what a nickname is?"

Roxas slowly shook his head, staring into the woman's sunglass covered eyes. It was almost painful how devoid of deception the look on his face was. He really didn't know. "What…is it?"

Again, everyone was a bit perplexed by this situation. Even Zombina, who was loud and talkative, was silenced by this strange phenomenon.

"Well sit down and I will explain it to you." Smith said. Roxas hesitated before slipping into the seat across from her. "A nickname is like a substitute for someone's name. Usually friends call each other nicknames for fun." She said as she gestured to Zombina. "Like Zombina here. I usually call her Bina for short."

"And I call her lazy ass for fun." Zombina grinned, showing off her sharp teeth.

Smith's eye twitched in annoyance. "Well, yeah, but the point is, friends call each other by nicknames."

"Friends?"

"…"

By this time, everyone seemed to be floored by this kids responses. There was no way he was that oblivious, right? "Y…Yeah friends." Smith confirmed. "You know, buddies? comrades? partners? People like that."

"Then…Are we…supposed to be friends?" Roxas asked curiously.

Smith blinked a few times. "I mean…sure? If you want to be friends." She really didn't know what to say in this situation. This was clearly not what she was expecting when she decided to talk to this boy.

Roxas just continued to stare at her but didn't say anything, which was making her a little unsettled. "Soo, would you rather me call you by a nick name, or by your real name?" Smith asked.

Again, Roxas hesitated. The man in the room asked him this many times, but it was always with a very aggressive tone. But this woman was calm. She wasn't demanding information from him. She was simply asking his name. There was no harm in telling her, right?

"Roxas."

Smith smiled when she saw she could get through to this boy on some level. "My name is Mrs. Smith. Or just Smith if you prefer." She said before she gestured to the other woman in the room. "This is Zombina."

"Hey squirt." Zombina greeted with a two-fingered salute.

Roxas frowned again at the name before glancing at Smith. "Is that…Another nick name?"

Smith chuckled. "You catch on quick. Do you have a last name?"

Roxas frowned slightly. "I…Only have one name. One name and…a number."

"A number?" Zombina asked, cocking her head curiously. "Who da fuck has a number?"

Hearing this information disturbed both Smith and the Chief. The only time she heard someone label themselves with a number was then they were an experiment of some kind. She was hoping and praying this was not one of those cases.

"What number?" Smith asked curiously.

"13."

"What does it mean?"

That's when everyone in the room notice Roxas seal his lips shut. It was obvious that he was not going to say anything else about the matter. However, that spoke volumes to smith. The blank look in his eyes, the emotionless tone in his voice, and his single name and number were all pointing towards an illegal Liminal-based experiment. While an extremely rare occurrence in the past, it was not an impossibility. The fact that he was tested to be 100% human, his strange abilities and inhuman like reflexes, it was definitely possible that someone tried to experiment with Liminal and humans.

Smith glanced over at the Chief of police. He was wearing a similar expression on his face. She narrowed her eyes a bit as she looked over at the boy again.

"Anyway, we will take it from here." Smith said as she turned to the chief. "He is under my jurisdiction now."

"What are you going to do with him?" Chief asked curiously.

"Ohh, I have an idea." Smith said with a grin as she stood from her spot.

* * *

The sudden turn of events was really curious to Roxas. One moment he was in his room, contemplating what he should do, and the next he was sitting in a government vehicle with his organization 13 coat in his lap. It had been returned to him after they told him he was leaving the facility. He didn't know where he was going, but anything was better than sitting in that room all day with nothing to do.

Glancing over to his left, he noticed Mrs. Smith sitting there, her elbow on the arm rest with her chin in her palm, gazing out the window absently.

Suddenly, Roxas felt an arm around his neck before his cheek was pressed against something soft. He glanced up at the person sitting on his right. Zombina was looking down at him with a grin on her face before she ruffled his hair.

"So, squirt. What was that thingy you did on the highway? Some sort of weird power?"

Roxas paused as he tried to figure out what she was asking. "The highway?"

"Yeah, you know. Where you almost got yer ass ran over by a car?"

"Oh…" Roxas said before he finally understood what she was getting at. His eyes widened just a bit. "Oh…You saw that?"

Smith glanced over at the duo, making sure to pay attention to their conversation.

"Not personally, but we got it on camera. Not often we see someone with yer ability. So, what was it?"

Roxas's mind was racing. He didn't want to say too much about it because he knew the rules of the organization. They told him not to tell others he was from another world, but they never said he couldn't tell them about other things.

"Um…The corridor." Roxas said.

"The corridor?" Zombina said, intrigue clear in her voice. "Is that what it's called? What does it do? Teleportation of some kind?"

"S…Something like that." Roxas said. "Its…hard to control."

"Yeah, I can see that. You teleported right into the middle of an intersection." Smith suddenly said as she turned to the nobody. "How are you able to do that?"

"Um…" Roxas paused, clearly uncomfortable with the amount of attention he was getting. "I was taught how by someone known as axel." He said.

"Axel?" Smith said, storing that name in her mental database. "Is that a friend of yours?"

"I…Don't know. I only knew him for 7 days." Roxas said before he shut his mouth again.

"Does he have a last name? Can you contact him?"

Roxas simply shook his head. "I don't know where he is or how to get back to him." He responded.

"Hummm…" Smith hummed as she scratched her head. "Did…Did he have a number like you?"

"Yeah…eight."

Again, smith bit her lower lip as she was reminded of some bad memories.

Zombina stared down at the kid before wrapping her arm tighter around his neck, almost to the point of choking him as she grinned. She nuggied his hair even though he showed little to no reaction. "Well, don't worry about it squirt. Well make sure to take care of you until we find out what's going on…That is unless you want to tell us."

Seeing Roxas zip his lips again forced a sigh out of them both. It was obvious he was not going to say a word about it. "Well fine, be difficult then." She said playfully as she removed her arm.

"…Sorry." Roxas responded, getting the two women to glance over at him curiously. He was looking down at the floor of the car, his mind clearly deep in thought.

A bit later, the car pulled into the culture exchange facility. All three walked into the front door before reaching the lounge where most of the members of MON would hang out. Just as they opened the door, the other members of the squad glanced over at them.

Roxas took in each of their features. One of them was reading a book before they walked in. She was a skinny and average looking girl with dark hair and wearing a large sun hat. Her most noticeable feature was her single large eye. Roxas and the girl made eye contact for a brief few seconds before the girl turned away from him and started reading her book while biting her lower lip.

The next girl was sitting on the couch watching TV. She glanced over in their direction for a brief second before returning to her program. She was skinny as well and had long flowing white hair. Her skin was darkly tanned and she wasn't wearing any clothing. Though her hair seemed to cover the more private areas of her body.

Lastly was the person who was easily the most noticeable of the group. She was lying on her stomach next to a pile of manga with one open in front of her. Her legs were joyfully swinging back and forth as she hummed in delight. She was huge, easily a few feet taller than Roxas. She also had dark tanned skin and a large horn protruding from her forehead. She glanced up when the trio walked through the door.

"Oh, you're back already. Where did you go? I thought you were going to hang out at Kurusu's again." The girl with the horn said.

"More like mooch off his food while watching his harem fight over him." The girl watching TV said.

"Can you blame me?" Smith asked with a grin. "Darling can cook a good meal and watching those girls fight over him is better than any TV program."

"Can't argue there. So, what happened?"

"I got sidetracked Doppel." Smith said as turned to the rest of them. "Tio, Manako, Doppel, Will you all watch over Roxas for a few minutes, I need to make a few phone calls."

Tio instantly glanced over at the young boy who was standing next to Smith. He was staring at her as well, his face devoid of emotion. However, that all changed when he heard a sudden squeal that caused him to jump slightly. The next thing he knew, he was having a very hard time breathing. He didn't know how, but the large girl made a mad dash over to him before wrapping her arms around his head and forcing it into her enormous bosom.

"He's so CUTE!" She squealed as she lifted him off the ground and twirled around in a circle. "Can we keep him."

A chuckle from the couch caught their attention. "Tio, he isn't a dog."

"Muu, I know that Doppel." Tio whined before tightening her told on the poor Nobody's head. At his point, his entire oxygen supply was cut off.

"um…Tio, I think he needs to breath…Sorry." The last girl said.

"Nah, He'll be fine, Manako." Zombina replied, clearly amused by the boy's predicament. She was impressed that the only reaction he was having was by the sever lack of oxygen. It was hella funny watching him start to flail his arms.

Smith smiled as she turned to leave the room. "I will be back in a few. Just…don't kill him Tio."

"You're all so mean!" Tio whined.

Right before Smith closed the door, she caught a glimpse of Roxas breaking free of Tio's death hold before leaping away from her and taking a deep breath. There was just a touch of panic on his face, the first amount of emotion that Smith had seen yet. However, the Cheerful Ogre rushed over in an attempt to glomp him again. She chuckled when she closed the door, listening to the sound of chaos ensuring in the room.

Smith went over to her office before reaching for the phone. She had to let out a chuckle as she thought about all the times she had called this particular man. He was easily one of her favorite hosts and no doubt he would take the boy in. In fact, it would be nice to have another male in that house, even if he was young. Dialing the number, she waited as the phone started ringing on the other end of the line. Truthfully, after the last incident of her accidently unloading three tranquilizer darts into his back, it was clear that Darling could use a hand.

"Hello?" A male voice said through the phone.

"Darling, its me."

"…Mrs. Smith? What's up? You didn't come around for lunch like you usually do."

Smith smile a little. "Awe, you were thinking of me, Darling? How would Mia feel if she heard you talking like that?"

"Sh…Shut up!"

Smith giggled. It was too easy to tease that man. "Alright alright, down to serious business. I have a huge favor I need from you."

"um…Let me guess, you need a home for another one?" Kimihito said. Even though she couldn't see his face, she could tell he had a deadpan expression on.

"Yes, but this situation is a little more unique. You see, since the last incident, I thought you could use some help around the house. This Liminal is a male, and remarkably like a human."

"Really? What is he then?"

"That's just the thing. We don't know. He won't open beyond a certain point. But he has strange abilities that can classify him as a Liminal."

She heard Kimihito give a small sigh over the phone. "well…Some help does sound nice right about now. Things are getting a bit overwhelming."

"Good. Oh, and I will say that he is young, about 15 years old. So, I think I will sign him up for that new school that's starting to incorporate Liminal's. What do you think?"

"Um…That's your decision Mrs. Smith. But again, I would be happy to offer my home as a place where he can stay while going to school."

"I knew I could count on you Darling. He will arrive in the morning. Since he doesn't require any space modifications, you don't have to worry about renovations this time." She said, amused when she heard Kurusu breathe a sigh of relief through the phone.

"Who are you talking to! Who is calling you darling?! I'm the only one allowed to call you that!" Another voice said through the phone.

"Relax Mia it's just Mrs. Smith."

"Why are you talking to her? What does she want this time?! No…Not Another RIVAL!"

"Um…Mrs. Smith, I got to go." Kurusu said through the phone, panic clear in his voice.

"Good luck darling." Smith said as she hung up the phone, chuckling a bit at the boy's predicament. Mia sure was a possessive girl considering her family's tradition. But hey, she was a sweetheart too.

Picking up the phone again, she gave another sigh. She started dialing the number of a nearby school that started to incorporate Liminal into their student body. Since she guessed Roxas was about 15 years old, it was only appropriate that he attended.

"Uhh, they don't pay me enough for this shit." Smith said as she walked down the hallway. She just got done sighting a few documents before shipping them off to the school. Since he was classified as a Liminal, the government was paying for the classes thankfully. Even though she didn't even ask his consent to sign him up, for some reason, she didn't think he would refuse.

She approached the door to the lounge, only to hear a loud crash. She blinked a few times in surprise. "Are they still at it?" She asked herself.

She reached up and gasped the doorknob before pulling it open. Smith barely had time to duck as a book was hurtled through the air straight at her head. Looking around the room, she almost burst out laughing when she saw Roxas crouched on top of the bookshelf, throwing books at Tio, who was still trying to catch him in a deadly embrace.

The room was a complete mess. The television was busted and the furniture was ruined. Zombina was flat on her back, laughing her ass off while kicking her feet in the air. Manako was trying to make herself as small as possible in the corner of the room.

Doppel was float off to the side, avoiding the books as she lightly laughed at the situation.

"C'mon Roxas! I just want ya give you a nice warm hug." She said as she lunged at him. Roxas nimbly leaped over her as she collided with the bookshelf, smashing it to pieces.

"Go away!" Roxas said with much more emotion that Smith had heard from him so far.

As much as Smith wanted to continue watching, she decided the government would through a fit if any more damage was caused. So she decided to step in and save the boy from the cuddly clutches of the happy Ogre. "Alright Tio, that's enough."

Tio stopped her advance on Roxas as she glanced over at her boss. Her lower lip quivered and her eyes transformed into the adorable puppy look. "But…But…"

Smith nearly caved at the look, but they had other things they needed to do before the day was over. "You can play with him later. I need him to sign a few things right now."

Zombina was able to finally control herself as she stood from the ground. She placed a hand on her fiend's shoulder. "Leave the kid alone Tio, I think you traumatized him enough."

"You're so mean! I just wanted to give him a hug."

"A hug that can rend steel." Doppel said with an amused smirk. "You can't really blame him for running away."

"Anyway…" Zombina said as she glanced over at Roxas, who was on the farthest side of the room next to Manako. He was in a crouched position, ready to flee at the slightest movement. Zombina then turned to smith, her grin going from ear to ear. "This kids a riot. I have never seen anyone escape Tio for that long in such a small room. He really is a Liminal, isn't he."

Smith shook her head as she looked over at Roxas. "Come with me. I need you to sign some things."

Roxas didn't hesitate to get out of the room and away from the clingy Ogre. They both left the room, but Roxas was still on edge from the whole ordeal.

"Relax Roxas. She didn't mean any harm."

"I…Couldn't breathe." Roxas said, his usual blank tone returning with just a hint of worry.

"Well…Tio can be a bit enthusiastic about cute things. You just have to forgive her for that."

"Cute?"

"Yeah. You're a cute young kid. She thought you were adorable." Smith said with a teasing grin. "She really can't help it."

"…ok." Roxas said, not sure how to respond to that. He had just spent the better part of 30 minutes evading the large girl form her suffocating grip. He had never met anyone like her before. Then again, most of the people here were so unlike the members of the organization. They were so full of life, so full of emotion.

Something that he lacked. He really didn't understand what that was supposed to feel like.

* * *

Under the instruction of Smith, Roxas finished signing the documents needed. He also spent the rest of the day avoiding the Ogre girl name Tio. She managed to catch him by surprise a few times and she was extremely difficult to escape from because of her strength.

For some reason, Smith gave him a second name to go with Roxas. When he signed the forms she wanted him to sign, he was told to put "Kurusu" As his surname. It was a little confusing, but he didn't really care.

It was the end of a long day before Roxas found himself lying on his back, looking up at a dark celling. Only this time, the door was left unlocked and he could leave whenever he wanted. Not that he was ever in a situation where he couldn't escape, but what would be the point?

He was stuck here on this planet where no one knew him. Then again, he had only known the Organization for 7 days, so it wasn't like he knew them either.

But still, this place was very curious. He couldn't help but think back on his experience so far. It had officially been two days since he arrived on this world. The people that surrounded him were very…strange, unlike anyone he had ever met. But then again, the only people he interacted with were other members of the organization. And even then, he only talked to a few of them.

But these people were different. They genuinely laughed, got angry and sad. They had feelings, purpose…

They had hearts.

He wanted to see more of it. He wanted to see why the Organization members missed their emotions so much that they mimicked them.

Closing his eyes, Roxas tried to find sleep. All these confusing thoughts were just burning him out. But as he laid there, he could not help but let one last thought cross his mind.

"I wish…I had a heart."

* * *

 **Authors note: Well, there you have it. My attempt at a crossover with Kingdom hearts and DLWMG. As you can see, this will be quite a different story that will contain a lot of OC characters and a OC school where humans and Liminal will attend together. This will prove to be more of a school life story that will have its own story arcs while Roxas interacts with the cannon characters on their adventures as well. Be prepared for something way different in this fic.**

 **But don't worry, there will be times where Roxas will kick some serious ass as well. If you are curious, this story starts right after the 5** **th** **chapter in the manga of Monster Musume.**

 **Also, Roxas is only 7 days old here, so he is as blank as this Microsoft word document before I began writing. This will make for some really hilarious situations and serious character development.**

 **So what do you guys think? I am being a little ambitions here, but I think It will be a lot of fun. I hope you guys will leave your thoughts in a review because they do help in getting these chapters out sooner. So, the more you review, the more I will dedicate to getting chapters out. I really want to get back into writing. I don't want my career to halt what I enjoy doing.**

 **Until then!**


	2. Chapter 2: Day 9

**Authors note: Hey guys. Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter of this story. I think I am going to enjoy writing this a lot. Anyhow, here is another one for you. Like I said last chapter, I want to write a bit each day to improve my skill rather than let it rust away. Also, if you guys haven't noticed, these chapters are a bit smaller than ones I usually do. It's because editing huge chapters is really demotivating. I sit down to edit, then I realize how much work I have ahead of me and decide to do it later. Therefore, I don't get the chapter out fast enough. Don't worry though, my 5k rule is still in play. It is a minimum word rule, so I usually exceed it by a couple thousand. Not much else to say, so without any further delay, here you go.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

 **Warning: You can comment on the spelling all you want, but that will only discourage me from writing rather than motive me.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 2: Day 9

It was a rather pleasant night sleep for Roxas. Admittedly, this bed was a lot more comfortable than the one offered to him at the detention center. Slowly, he opened his eyes just enough to see that it was still rather dark outside. But he was used to waking up to darkened skies since the only light available was from Kingdom hearts in the world that never was.

Sitting up in his bed, Roxas glanced out the window. "So, the last couple of days haven't been a dream." He said quietly as he viewed a clear sky that lacked the heart shaped Kingdom hearts. The only thing in the sky was a round moon surrounded by a sea of dimming stars. The sun's rays were barely peaking over the horizon, sending its gentle rays as a forewarning of the arrival of the sun.

But being an early bird was nothing new to Roxas. The members of the Organization would always get up early to train and plan for the day's missions. Even in seven days, Roxas was taught to wake early and prepare. So, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Roxas stood up and cracked his neck. He walked over to the chair where he had laid his coat before picking it up.

As he stared at the fabric in his hands, he couldn't help but wonder how he was going to get back to the organization. No doubt they were wondering where he was…

But then again, why did he even need to go back there? He didn't know anything about them. He didn't know what they wanted or what they were after, and frankly, he didn't care. In fact, he really didn't care about anything, so why did he need to go back to them.

He remembered Xemnas saying that he was special, that the organization needed him for their purpose, but why should that concern him. The only reason he even stayed with the organization was because they gave him a purpose and he had nowhere else to go. They provided for him and he would do missions. That was the extent of their relationship.

But now, the women that picked him up yesterday said she would help him out. She offered him a place to stay, even though she didn't know who he was. Why would she do that when he didn't offer anything in return. He didn't even answer her questions, yet she still took him in. It boggled his mind a bit.

So, with those thoughts in mind, Roxas threw the coat back over the chair. If the Organization wanted him back, they would have to come get him. Besides, it's not like he knew how to get back anyway. And even if he did, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to leave yet. These people were interesting. The amount of emotion they displayed was fascinating and he wanted to learn more about it.

Turning away from the coat, Roxas walked out the door an into the empty hallway. Since he was subjected to the chaos yesterday, he never really had the chance to explore the…What was it again? Exchange facility?

As he wandered around, he thought about the interesting set of characters he had met the other day. Zombina, Doppel, Manako, and…*Shutter* Tio…They all had very different features than members of the organization. Like Manako's singe eye, or Tio's size and horn. Well, then again, he only knew 13 people for the entire time he had existed, so who knows. Maybe they were all diverse like this.

"Ha! Ya!"

Roxas was shaken from his thoughts as he noticed a sound coming from the other side of a closed door. He walked right up to it before he heard another shout.

"HIYYYAA!"

Finding himself curious, Roxas grasped the handle and opened the door. It immediately swung open and standing in the middle of the room, he saw a familiar red-haired zombie. She was standing in, what looked to be like, a small gym room. It was decorated with practice mats, weights, a badly abused punching bag, and other assorted gym gear. Zombina was throwing practice punches and kicks at an invisible target. However, the moment she saw Roxas, she halted her exercise and grinned over at him.

"What are ya doing gettin' up this early in the morning?" She asked.

Roxas shrugged slightly as he continued to stare at her. "What…were you doing? Fighting?"

"Fighting? Nah, just practicin' my form. Got to keep this undead body in shape ya know?" She said as she stretched her arms. "What about you? You know anything about fighting?"

Roxas cocked his head curiously as he gave a slow nod.

"Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised while taking a mental note. "Well, practicin' by myself gets kind of boring. Why don't you spare with me? I promise to go easy on ya." She said with a grin, throwing up her fists and getting into a casual stance.

Roxas blinked a few times as he absorbed the way she was standing. Was this the way people here fought around here? With their fists? He had never fought without the Keyblade before, but he was down to learn something new. Slowly, he attempted to get into the same exact stance, only to get a small chuckle from the zombie.

"From the looks of it, either you are extremely rusty, or you don't fight with your fists that often." She laughed as she looked at his wobbly stance.

"um…I usually fight with a weapon." Roxas responded.

"A weapon huh? Someone train you or something?"

"…"

Zombina chuckled as she turned away from him. "Well, I think I can work with that." she said as she turned to the corner of the room. She walked forward before she grabbed a bamboo bokken from the barrel. "This should do nicely."

Roxas didn't pay attention to what she was doing. He stretched forth his hand, about to call the Keyblade, but he was interrupted when he noticed a wooden sword being tossed at him. Instead of summoning his weapon, he grasped the wooden blade with his eyebrow cocked.

"Sometimes MON has to deal with a few Liminal's who try to act all tough by wearing a sword. It's a good idea to practice fighting against em' every so often." Zombina said as she got back into her casual stance.

"Um…Liminal's?" Roxas asked. He had heard the term a few times in the past, but never had the chance to ask about them?

"Yeah." Zombina replied, her brows raised in confusion. "You know, Liminal's! Like me, Tio, Manako, and Doppel."

"…You guys are Liminal's?"

"Well Duh! We ain't human." She said, seriously surprised by his questions. "You're a liminal as well."

"I am?" Roxas asked before he realized what Zombina was talking about. He thought some of the people around here were physically different than what he was used to. But he didn't expect them to be classified as something else. And what confused the nobody more was the fact that he was also classified as one of these Liminal's despite looking exactly like a human.

"…What the hell?" Zombina said as she scratched her head. "Just what kind of hole have you been livin' in your whole life."

"…One that shouldn't exist." Roxas murmured as he lifted the wooden sword, glancing at it before looking over at the Zombie. "You want me to fight you with this?"

Zombina barely managed to hear his first statement. It was way confusing, but she decided to drop it for now. Her brain wasn't made for thinking too much anymore. Instead, she nodded her head, thought she didn't look that enthusiastic. There weren't many people who could match her zombie strength. It made for some very boring fights. She got back into her casual stance.

Roxas didn't say another word as he got down in his usual one Keyblade stance. A stance that caused Zombina to cock an eyebrow.

"That's a…weird pose ya got there, but whatever." She said as she raised her fists. "because we're both Liminal, it's not against the law to spare. Even though you were tested to be human, I think we can get away with a couple rounds, don't you?

"It's against the law for Liminal's and Human's to fight?" Roxas asked.

Zombina's eye twitched. She was getting tired of his questions. The answers were common knowledge, so why didn't he know them? "Yeah. Has been ever since the Culture exchange bill was put into place. Why don't you know this? Everyone know this?"

Roxas slowly shrugged, causing Zombina to blinked a few times. "Seriously, what prehistoric era are you from?"

Roxas frowned at her question, not quite sure how to answer it. He shrugged again, a completely serious look on his face.

Zombina gave a small awkward laugh when she saw this. "Umm…You know I was joking' right?"

Again, the nobody frowned slightly as he tried to find the humor in her statement. "you…Were?"

"Oh God." Zombina responded, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You really are clueless. But whatever." She said as she got back into her stance. "Let's tussle."

* * *

Smith gave a large yawn as she crawled out of her bed. "Another day, another headache to deal with." She murmured as she slogged her way to the bathroom to prepare for the day. "Well, at least I get to have breakfast with darling. That's something to look forward to."

A small shower later, Smith was feeling refreshed and ready to go. The only thing able to make her morning better was a freshly brewed cup of her favorite coffee made by her favorite host in the program.

Thinking back on the young man, Smith had to ponder how much she hung out at his place. He was a very gentle soul, always willing to put others before himself, and taking any kind of task with a smile on his face. It was amazing when you thought about it. It was rare that a family of people could handle one Liminal, but he was a single man handling 3, all of which wanted to get into his pants.

And even when he has all that to deal with, He still finds time to cook for them, clean after them, take them out to see the real world, and make them happy. He didn't just do that for the girls living with him either. Smith also mooched a lot off him, which only served to add to his work load.

Giving a sigh, smith got dressed in her usual business attire before leaving the room. She needed to wake up the new kid Roxas so she could take him to meet his new host. Even mentioning the kid brought questions to Smith's mind. This kid was a complete anomaly. He tests results proved he was a human, but he possessed very strange abilities. She didn't show yesterday, but she was very impressed he was able to evade Tio for so long. Not only that, he could break out of her grip. That was a feat in and of itself because Tio was strong enough to break almost anything in half with one of her hugs. Smith knew because she had been in Roxas's shoes more than once.

Then there was the strange dark portal the cameras caught. Even though she didn't know what it was, she could only summarize that it was teleportation of some kind. Only a select few powerful Liminal could teleport, but she had yet to see a portal like that.

And the most frustrating part was that the boy would not say anything about it. He barely said anything at all. It was a chore to get him to talk.

But then again…

The completely expressionless look in his eye might have something to do with that. When Smith mentioned the word friend, he acted as though the concept was alien to him. In fact, most everything she tried to talk to him about, whether it be school, friendship, Liminal's, or even the most basic of things, the result was the same. It was as if he didn't understand any of it.

That was a frightening thought. If that really was the case, then she couldn't imagine what he had gone through in the past to end up like this. Even when she bid Roxas goodnight, she spent half of the night looking through the military's database trying to find anyone by the name of Roxas. She found a few profiles, but none of them matched his description. So, when that didn't work, she ran his DNA test through the database trying to find a match, or even a parental match, but nothing came up. Finally, she tried facial recognition, filtering through thousands of faces from around the world, but there was still nothing.

It boggled her mind. How in the world was this kid not in any database anywhere around the world? He looked to be around 15 years old. Surly some surveillance system somewhere caught sight of his face at least once.

But there was nothing.

And that was extremely frightening. Just who was this kid?

Smith was interrupted from her thoughts as she approached the training room. She cocked her eyebrow curiously as she saw Tio, Manako, and Doppel all peeking through the small opening in the door. Their eyes where wide and their mouths dropped open in astonishment at what they were watching.

As she approached them, Smith tilted her head in confusion. "What are you doing?"

All three Liminal's jumped a bit before looking up at her. The first to recover was Doppel as she pointed to the opening in the door with a small grin on her face. "It seems our friend Roxas is a bit more interesting than we first thought."

"Yeah! He is incredible." Tio exclaimed.

Smith cocked her eyebrow again as she approached the door and peeked through the opening. To say the least, what she saw inside greatly surprised her.

* * *

Roxas and Zombina had been going at it for about 30 minutes now. Roxas was making sure to tame his blows because he knew how fragile people were on this planet. However, Zombina was quite a bit more powerful than your average person. Every time he blocked her fist with his sword, the wood creaked and his arms shook from the pressure. She was extremely fast as well, but when you deal with members of the organization daily, he could easily keep up. Every so often, he would attack with his wooden sword, but she evaded most of his strikes with incredible agility. And every blow he did land, it would barely faze her. She bounced back like a loaded spring before launching an attack.

Zombina on the other hand, was extremely impressed. She didn't think the runt would last more than a few minutes against her. She only wished she had her guns now. With her baby's, this kid wouldn't stand a chance. Fist fighting was not her forte, but even so, it surprised her when she realized she was the one being pushed back.

Smith watched in awe as Zombina dropped a heal kick directly at Roxas's head. He simply darted back, allowing the heal to create a nice dent in the floor, before he rushed at her with incredible speed. He swung the sword to the side, connecting with her ribs. Zombina flipped over before landing on her feet and jumped at him again, this time with her fist cocked back. She let her fist fly and it connected with the wooden sword, however the feeble weapon decided it had enough. The wood shattered and the fist continued to sail downwards at Roxas's face.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang through the training room as her fist connected with his cheek. His head was thrust to the side by the sheer power of the blow.

Zombina was a bit horrified she managed to connect that punch. She had been getting so into the fight that she forgot to hold back her zombie strength. She jumped back and loosened her stance before approaching the Nobody.

"Hey, you ok squirt?" she asked, lightly laying a hand on his shoulder.

Smith was also terrified. Zombina had the strength to break someone's neck with the power of her punch.

Roxas was still standing there with his head turned in the exact same position. His hair overshadowed his eyes as he slowly turned back to the zombie.

Zombina was biting her lower lip, afraid she broke his jaw after she landed that punch. However, when she saw his face, her own eyes widened.

Roxas's lip was split and a thin trail of blood dripped from his mouth. But other than that, he looked perfectly fine. His eye wasn't swollen, his face wasn't caved in, and his neck wasn't broken. It made Zombina breathe a sigh of relief.

"You ok squirt? Didn't mean to hit ya that hard." She said with a grin as she slapped him on the back. "Ya sure know how to take a punch. Ya have me worried and all."

Roxas looked down at his broken wooden sword before looking back to her. "That…was a hard hit?" he asked. He remembered taking hits from people like Lexaeus, who could hit the earth with enough force to cause an earthquake. He was expected to get up after that and keep fighting as part of their training. He had to admit though, Zombina packed a punch compared to other humans on this planet, but it was still a tap compared to what the organization could do.

Zombina couldn't help but feel a little insulted. "What, you sayin' that didn't hurt?"

"It…stung a little." Roxas admitted as he wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve.

"Yesh, what are you made of squirt?" Zombina said as she slapped his back again.

Everyone who was watching on the other side was clearly impressed, especially smith. Taking a hit from a zombie and shrugging it off was no small feat. It just proved again that there was something extremely off about this kid.

But seeing that they were done, she decided to intervein. She pushed open the door, catching Roxas's and Zambian's attention. "Alright, that's enough for now. I don't want to show up at Darlings and have to explain why his new tenant is beat up.

Zombina huffed as she looked out the door to see Tio, Manako, and Doppel all standing there, looking sheepish. "You know its creepy as hell when you spy like that."

Doppel had a mischievous grin on her face. "well, it's also creepy as hell when and older woman takes a young boy into her room alone. We had to make sure you weren't doing anything prohibited."

"HA! Jokes on you. This kids a Liminal as well, so there ain't no problem having a sparring match." Zombina said triumphantly.

"Wasn't talking about sparing." Doppel responded with a sly grin.

Zombina raised an eyebrow. "Then what were you talk…" She started before her undead brain started firing the right signals. "Oh, HELL NO you didn't."

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" Doppel said as she floated away.

"Get your ass back here!" Zombina exclaimed as she sprinted out of the room and after Doppel.

Tio, Manako, and Smith were all giggling at their antics, while Roxas was watched on obliviously. He noticed the rest of them standing there, laughing and was a bit curious. Making sure to keep an eye on Tio, Roxas approached the group.

"What was she talking about?" Roxas asked quietly.

Smith looked down at the boy, her smile disappearing somewhat. "What do you mean?"

"What did Doppel think we were doing besides sparring?"

Smith didn't know whether to burst out laughing or start crying. There was no way this kid could be that oblivious, right? He couldn't even catch sexual innuendoes? Wait…

"Roxas, how are babies made?" Smith asked in all seriousness. The sudden question caused Tio and Manako to stare at their boss in complete and utter confusion, their mouths dropped open.

"…I don't understand the question."

If they were confused now, the three ladies were now lost beyond measure. "Oh. My. God." Smith murmured. She wasn't the only one. Manako and Tio were both gaping at the boy in wonder.

"…What?" Roxas asked, curious as to why he was receiving such looks.

"It's-it's nothing. But we need to go. Darling will be waiting for us."

"…ok." Roxas responded. He was about to follow smith down the hallway, but was stopped when two large arm constricted around his neck from behind. His body instantly stiffened and he was about to break free, but then he noticed that he didn't have the same problem breathing as last time. He did feel two soft mounds pressing against his neck though while a chin rested on his head.

"See ya later cutie. Don't be a stranger and come visit me sometime." Tio said, a large smile on her childish face.

"um…Ok." Roxas said, frowning a bit as he felt his heart beat just a little faster than usual. For some reason, he felt a bit strange when she said those worlds.

"Roxas, get a move on! And Tio, let him go." Smith said from down the hallway.

"Yes mam!" She said happily as she released Roxas from hold.

"Um…It was nice to meet you Roxas…Sorry." Manako said quietly

Roxas stared over at her as well before nodded. "…It was…Nice to meet you too." He said before he turned away from them both and followed Smith down the hallway.

"He…is really interesting." Manako said quietly.

"Yeah he is. He's just adorable. I can't help but want to cuddle him."

"…Yeah." Manako said as she thought about the way he looked at her. Most of the time, people were intimidated by her single large eye. She could tell by the way other's eyes would shift when attempting to make eye contact with her. She could also see the finer details of body language when people were around her. It made her feel extremely self-conscious about her looks.

But with Roxas, there was no hesitation in his movements, not even his eyes. They stared directly back into hers without any fear, disgust, or hesitation. But then, she also noticed that there was nothing else either. No joy or happiness, just unfiltered curiosity. She could see that every time he looked around, he was absorbing information like a sponge. She also noticed that he paid special attention to the way people reacted around him, almost like he was trying to understand why they acted the way they did.

Manako watched as Roxas disappeared around the corner. She had never seen anyone with those kinds of eyes before. Eyes that were so emotionless, so blank…

So empty.

* * *

It was a very silent and awkward drive over to Kimihito's house. Every so often, Smith glanced over at Roxas, who was staring out the window with his usual blank expression on his face. He was watching the buildings and people pass by as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world to him.

It didn't take long before they arrived at the house. The car screeched to a halt before smith and Roxas got out. Smith gave a satisfied sigh as she walked up to the front door. She turned to Roxas with a smile.

"This is where you will be living from now on. The person who is going to take care of you is a nice man, so please show him some respect."

"…Ok." Roxas responded as he looked up at the house. While nothing compared to the castle, this house was a decent size. It could easily fit many people. He watched as smith knocked on the door. Instantly, sounds could be heard from the other side.

"Papi, could you get that for me? I'm a bit busy right now."

"Sure, thing Hubby."

The door suddenly swung open to reveal a unique looking person. Roxas had never seen anyone like this before yet. Her hair was light blue and instead of arms, she had a pair of blue feathery wings. She also didn't have normal human legs. Instead they were a pair of bird legs with sharp talons for toes. All in all, she was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

"Terminator!" The girl said cheerfully before turning to the inside of the house. "Hubby, it's the terminator!"

"Um…I think you mean the Coordinator." Responded another voice that just walked into the room, drying his hands down with a towel. "Mrs. Smith. How are you this morning. You are just in time for breakfast as well."

"I wouldn't miss it Darling." Smith said as she lowered her glasses and winked at him.

The so called "Darling" scratched the back of his head as he looked over at Roxas. "So, is he the one?"

Smith nodded. "Yep, this is Roxas. He will be staying here from now on." She said as she looked over at the boy. "Roxas, this is Kimihito. He will be taking care of you."

Roxas looked up at the man curiously. He was, if there were any other way to describe it, normal. He had black hair, an average build, and a friendly smile on his face. Just being around this guy seemed to put the nobody at ease.

"Nice to meet you Roxas. My name is Kimihito." The man said as he extended his hand.

Roxas frowned as he stared at the appendage, not sure what this man was expecting. It made for an awkward atmosphere.

Smith wondered why Roxas wasn't shaking Kimihito's hand. He was being extremely rude. He was just staring at the hand with curiosity in his eyes. It wasn't like he didn't know what a…

…

Smith Sweat dropped when she came to the realization that Roxas didn't know what a handshake was. She knew he was clueless, but she didn't know it was to this extent. It was seriously getting ridiculous.

Instead of Roxas taking the hand, Smith did instead and shook for him, showing him how it was done. Kimihito looked up at the lady in confusion. "Sorry about that Darling. Roxas is a little…unique. In fact, can I talk to you in private really quick?"

Kimihito looked between Roxas and Smith a few times before shrugging. "Sure, I still have to finish breakfast. Papi?"

"Yes hubby?" The happy harpy responded cheerfully.

"Can you take Roxas to the living room. Maybe you can play some games with him."

"Really?" She asked in excitement before turning to the boy. "You want to play with me?"

"um…Sure?" Roxas responded.

"YAY!" Papi squealed. "So, your Name is Roxas? I'm Papi. Papi is a harpy. A harpy is what Papi is! Come play games with me!" she exclaimed as she grabbed Roxas's shirt with one of her talented legs and flew off into the living room, dragging him behind her.

When they disappeared from view, Smith let out a chuckle as she and Kimihito walked into the kitchen. There were pancakes, eggs, and half-cooked bacon on the stove. Kimihito continued cooking the food before he gestured to Smith to start talking while he worked.

"Hm, western today? How nice."

"Well, you know." Kimihito said as he flipped the bacon. "Miia does love her eggs. But what did you want to talk about?" He finished as he reached for a mug and poured a cup of coffee for the stressed coordinator.

"Thanks darling." Smith said as she took a long sip of the hot liquid. "I have a few things to tell you about that boy."

"Really?" Kimihito said as he started chopping a salad for Centorea. "That reminds me. What is he supposed to be? He looks completely human to me."

"Yeah, it does seem that way. Even the DNA tests says he's human. But there is something off about him." Smith said as she took another sip.

"You mean like how he doesn't know what a handshake is?" Kimihito asked.

Smith paused herself from taking another sit as she looked at Kimihito's back. "Yeah, Sorry about that, though I'm surprised you noticed."

"It wasn't that hard to tell by the look on his face." Kimihito responded.

Smith gave a sigh as she took another sip of coffee. "Honestly, every second I spend around him, I just have more questions. I didn't even know he was that clueless until I saw him staring at your offered hand."

"That is pretty weird. What is he supposed to be?"

"We don't know. For the most part, I think he is human, but he has some unique aspects about him that could classify him as a liminal."

"Like what?"

"Inhuman strength and agility to start." Kimihito said as she took another sip. "But don't worry, he doesn't have any ill intent…In fact, I don't think he has any intent whatsoever."

Kimihito paused as he looked over his shoulder. "And that means?"

"It's…hard to describe. You will see it the more you interact with him. But his situation is unique. Since he was tested to be human, it means he doesn't need a host to be with him when he goes out. It was one of the reasons I thought it would be a good idea for him to live here. Maybe you could use a hand."

"You can say that again." Kimihito laughed. "So, he would be able to take Papi, Centorea, or Miia out when I am busy?"

Smith nodded. "I need to get him a host pass, but yes. It would be nice for them to get out more often."

Kimihito seemed pleased by this information.

"But also, because of his abilities, he is also classified as a Liminal. So, we are trying to see which rules apply to him. We will figure that out later though" Smith said as she sipped more of her coffee.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just…learn what you can about him. I have a few assumptions, but none of them are good. Just a warning though, he is very tight-lipped about certain things, so don't be surprised if he is not willing to divulge information about himself."

"Well," Kimihito shrugged. "Everyone has their secrets. But you also said you enrolled him in a new school?"

"Yeah, He's only like 15. I thought sending him to the new school that was recently renovated to hold Liminal's."

"Wow, so they are already incorporating Liminal's into the curriculum." Kimihito noted.

"Yep, the government thought it would be beneficial to incorporate Liminal as early as possible. Kokusai High is one of the first and the most successful so far."

"Yeah, I heard about all the school renovations on the news."

"So, he is going to be a busy guy, but I think It will do him some good overall."

"I agree with you."

"Well, that's all I wanted to talk about. Is breakfast almost ready?"

"Just about, would you mind getting everyone. I think Miia and Centorea are still in their rooms. I will get Papi and Roxas. I think it's time to introduce our new house guest to everyone." Kimihito said as she washed his hands again and dried them off on his apron.

Smith nodded as she ascended the stairs.

Kimihito walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. He saw Papi sitting on the couch with a Wii remote in her wings. She was playing Mario cart with Roxas. It was obvious she was winning based on Roxas's 12 place on the screen, but his face was courted in concentration as he violently jerked the Wii remote from once direction to the other.

Kimihito almost laughed at how hard it looked like he was trying, but his cart wasn't making any progress. When the race ended, Papi cheered because she easily won.

"You are really bad at this!" she laughed. "You have to move the remote like this." She demonstrated the proper turning technique by slowly rotating the remote in her wings.

Roxas stared at the movement, trying to understand exactly how this game worked.

"…Ok." Roxas responded as he turned back to the television.

Kimihito chuckled, getting papi's and Roxas's attention. "You must continue this later. Breakfast is ready."

"BREAKFAST!" Papi squealed as she leaped off the couch and bounded into the kitchen.

Roxas placed the remote on the couch as he stood up. He turned to Kimihito, who was watching with amusement. "First time playing a video game?"

Roxas nodded without saying anything.

"How do you like it?" Kimihito asked as he turned to walk into the kitchen, Roxas following right behind.

"…Not sure. It was interesting, but I'm not very good."

"You'll get batter. Papi loves playing games, so you will have plenty of time to practice." Kimihito said lightly patted Roxas's shoulder.

Roxas stiffened slightly at the contact, but didn't pull away. He just wasn't used to people touching him. He wasn't used to any of this. In the past few days, he has seen more people than he ever had in the Organization. Diverse people too. They were all so different and full of life. It was so interesting to just observe them.

He and Kimihito waked into the kitchen to see Papi already seated, looking eager. She had the biggest smile on her face as she watched then enter the room. "Food! Food!" She sung as she playfully kicked her legs under the table.

Roxas was gestured to a seat just one space away from Kimihito as the man walked over to the counter and started placing the food on the table.

"There are two other people you need to meet. They should be down in a second." Kimihito said as he placed a large plate of bacon on the table near Papi. The bird girl nearly lunged at the pile of meat, but was stopped when Kimihito placed a restraining hand on her forehead. "Papi, we have to wait for everyone. Don't you remember."

"Tee, He. Papi forgot. Papi's not good at remembering things." She said sheepishly.

"It's ok Papi." Kimihito said as he turned his back away from the energetic girl. Instantly, Papi grabbed a single piece of bacon and inhaled it before anyone saw a thing. Well…Anyone besides Roxas. He and Papi made eye contact for a moment before Papi stuck out her tongue and scratched the back of her head with one wing, trying to play off her bacon robbery.

Roxas just continued to observe, however, he felt the corner of his mouth turn up very slightly. It only lasted a brief second, but it was enough to confuse him. Why was he smiling? It was almost like he couldn't help it. He had seen a few members of the organization smile before, but they mimicking memories, so why did he smile?

The sound of someone coming down the stairs caught his attention. Smith was first to come into view, but she was followed by two people who, again, had very different physical structures from your average human. The first girl had bright red hair, golden and silted irises, and pointed ears. However, her most noticeable future was the long serpent tail she had in place of a pair of legs. That really threw Roxas for a loop. He thought Papi's legs were strange, but this took the cake.

The next girl was equally different. She had flowing golden hair that was a hade lighter than his and crystal blue eyes. While the upper half of her body was very normal besides pointed ears, the lower half was that of a horse. This was even more different than the first girl who came down the stairs. Everyone looked so physically different in this world. It was obvious that these two were also classified as Liminal.

Roxas couldn't take his eyes off them. They were to fascinating to him because he had never seen anything like it. He was torn from his gaze when he noticed the snake girl. Her gaze was directly on Kimihito's back as he reached bot the plate of eggs. It was sudden, but a large smile crossed her face before she coiled her body up like a loaded spring. She then launched herself at the man.

"DARLING! You made eggs again just for me! You really are the nicest guy!" She gushed as she nearly knocked the man down. Kimihito displayed some serious balance skills as he remained on his feet despite the restricting coils slowly constricting around his body.

"Careful Miia, or those eggs will end up on the floor." He chuckled lightly, but Roxas could tell the oxygen was being crushed out of his body.

"Unhand him! Can you not see that master is trying to finish preparing out meal!" The horse lady said as she approached the two.

"You're just jealous that I got to him first Centorea." The snake woman said, shooting the blond woman a grin while unwrapping her body from around the human. Kimihito inhaled a lung-full of oxygen before he continued placing items on the table.

"D-Don't be absurd! I mealy didn't want masters hard work to go to waste because you couldn't keep your hands to yourself Miia." Centorea claimed, her head held high.

"Now now girls." Smith said as she took a seat next to Roxas, who was watching the exchange with curiosity. "Let's not make a scene in front of a new house guest."

"New house guest." Miia and Centorea asked, looking at Smith curiously.

"Ah! I remember. Darling was talking to you on the phone about this yesterday. Not another RIVAL!" Miia cried angrily as she looked around the table for an unfamiliar female. "I don't see anyone besides you and a blond…kid?" Miia finished as she noticed Roxas sitting there, staring at her.

Centorea also noticed him sitting there. She carefully walked around the table, trying to get a better look at the boy. "Smith, who is this new lad? Could he be our new house guest?"

"That he is Centorea." Kimihito interrupted before smith could say anything. "This is Roxas. From now on, he will be living here and helping me out around the house."

"Oh, is that so master?" Centorea said as she turned to the boy. Her face steeled over with a countenance that oozed with dignity. She thrust her hand forward. "My name is Centorea, proud member of the Centaur race. It is an honor to meet your acquaintance."

Again, Roxas stared between Centorea's face and the extended hand in confusion. He had never really heard someone introduce themselves in such a sophisticated manner. It took him a bit by surprised. Also, what was with people offering their hands to him when he first meets them?

Glancing over at Smith, she gestured to him to take it. He also remembered what smith did with Kimihito when they greeted each other. So, he extended his hand and grasped hers before shaking once and letting it go.

"…Roxas." He said quietly.

"Awed! He's shy!" Miia said from behind him before wrapping her arms around his neck. "My name is Miia, nice to meet you Roxas. Since you don't seem to be a rival, I welcome you to this house." She said with a friendly smile.

Again, Roxas stiffened at the contact. He still wasn't used to people touching him. "Um…It's nice to meet you."

"Smith, if I may be so bold to ask, why is a young human living here with us?" Centorea asked.

"Well, that's a bit complicated. Why don't we all sit down for breakfast first."

"I agree, I'm starving!" Miia said as she released Roxas and took her spot next to Kimihito.

"Indeed." Centorea said as she stood next to the table.

The breakfast table was alive with so much emotion that Roxas hardly took a bite of his food. He was too preoccupied by the amount of banter, arguing, laughing, and yelling that took place. It was so interesting to watch and observe how people with emotions acted. Once again, he marveled at the ability to feel, how full of life it could make someone.

"Roxas."

Roxas blinked as he noticed Kimihito addressing him through the banter.

"You haven't eaten much. Was it that bad?" Kimihito asked, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Looking down at his plate, he noticed that he only took a few bites. "No…It is really good. But, I'm just…Distracted."

Instead of being confused, Kimihito laughed. "I see what you mean. This house can be a bit loud at times, but it does make things interesting."

"…Can't argue with that." Roxas said softly.

Smith smiled a bit at seeing Kimihito making conversation with the extremely stoic boy. She knew that if anyone could break him out of his shell, it would be Kimihito. After all, who else was more qualified than someone who housed three Liminal's on his own.

"Oh yeah, Kimihito." Smith said, getting the man's attention. "Roxas will be starting school in a few days. I already told you the government is taking care of his tuition, so don't worry about that. He just needs to get the basic supplies. Would you mind going out and showing him around town later?"

"Sure thing, we can make it a group outing." Kimihito responded. This was followed by a cheer from Miia and Papi.

"Yeah! A date with Darling!" Miia exclaimed.

"On the contrary, we are all going out together. This is far from a date."

"Mu! Shut up Centorea." Miia pouted.

"Date with hubby! Date with hubby!" Papi sung as she held a fork full of eggs in her hand.

"It's not a date bird brain!" Miia hissed.

Roxas watched at the bickering started all over again. Kimihito was prophetic in every word. Things would be very interesting from now on.

After breakfast was done, Roxas watched as everyone quickly vacated the table, including Smith. She only stayed for a brief moment after breakfast was done to ask Kimihito's guests how they were enjoying their stay so far. It wasn't until she got a call on her cell phone that she figured she needed to go. Roxas could swear that he heard yelling from the other side of the phone call saying that Smith was taking too long.

"Alright, I am off. Oh, And Roxas." Smith said as she handed him a card. "If you have any questions, or need anything, just give me a call. Alright honey?"

Roxas stared down at the card before glancing up at her. "…Ok." He said. "Thank you."

Smith blinked a few times before she smiled. She ruffled his hair before turning to the door. "Be seeing you soon." She said before she closed the door behind her.

Roxas stared down at the card again. It felt a little strange being left with strangers again. But as soon as those thoughts entered his mind, two pairs of hands grabbed his arms.

"Ro-Tax! Come play with us again." Papi squealed.

"I think his name is Roxas." Miia corrected, grabbing hold of his other arm before she turned her attention to the confused nobody. "But yeah! Come play with us." She said with a large smile.

"…ok." Roxas said. As soon as the words left his mouth, he found himself being dragged back to the living room by Papi and Miia while Centorea elegantly walking into the room behind them.

Kimihito sighed as he looked the mess from breakfast. "Time to do some daily chores." He said as he started clearing the table.

Back in the living room, Papi challenged the snake girl to a game of Mario kart while Centorea and Roxas watched. As the game proceeded, it was easy to see that Miia was getting frustrated though because Papi was so much better at the game.

Looking around, Roxas noticed that Kimihito was nowhere to be seen since breakfast ended. They others were so engrossed in their game that they didn't even notice Roxas stand from his seat and wander away to find the man.

It didn't take long because it turned out that Kimihito didn't even leave the kitchen. He was quietly cleaning off the table and throwing the dishes into the sink to be washed. It was a large mess that they poor guy had to clean up, but he did so with a smile on his face.

Roxas watched the man work from the kitchen entrance before approaching. "What…are you doing?" Roxas asked, causing Kimihito to jump a bit in surprise.

"Oh…You know, cleaning." Kimihito said as he started to wash the dishes.

Now Roxas wasn't a stranger to chores. He was taught to clean his room in the castle and clean up after himself when the organization ate their meals. It was expected of them because no one had the patience to clean someone else's mess. Demyx learned that the hard way when he felt himself on the other end of Larxene's wrath when he didn't clean his mess in the kitchen. Roxas still had nightmares of how much electricity was used to electrocute the water nobody.

After that, Roxas always remembered to clean up his mess.

"Do…You need some help?" He asked quietly.

Kimihito froze in the middle of washing a plate. He nearly dropped it as he slowly turned to the new blond houseguest. There were happy tears that perked the side of his eyes as he gave the nobody a watery smile. No one had ever offered to help him with chores before.

"You-You wouldn't mind?"

Roxas shook his head as he wordlessly started clearing off the table, packaging leftovers and throwing waste into the garbage. Kimihito started tackling the dishes while Roxas wiped off the counter and table. After that, Roxas aided in cleaning the dishes by rinsing them off, drying them and then putting them away. By working together, they managed to clean the kitchen in a quarter of the time it would take Kimihito to do it himself.

"Thanks a ton, Roxas." Kimihito nearly cried as he dried off his hands.

"…It was no big deal." Roxas said before he noticed Kimihito walking into the nearby closet and pulling out objects like mops, gloves, and other cleaning solutions from a bucket. "What are you doing now?"

"More cleaning." Kimihito said with a tired smile. "If there is one thing I have learned about living with Liminal's, it is that you have to clean the bathroom a couple of times each day. Especially in the morning after everyone has gotten ready."

Roxas watched as Kimihito pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. It felt like he was about to go to war on the bathroom by the amount of supplies he managed to fit into that bucket. "Do you need more help?"

Again, Kimihito almost wept for joy. Clearing the bathroom was by far the most taxing chore on his list of things to do. It took the most time and energy because of how big the bathroom was and how dirty it got. "You really don't half too."

"…Your right, I don't. But it would go faster if I helped. I want to see the city." Roxas said plainly.

"Well then if you are willing, then prepare yourself. This is no easy task." Kimihito said dramatically as he handed the nobody a pair of rubber gloves.

Once they entered the bathroom, Roxas could see what Kimihito was talking about. It was a complete disaster, but Roxas wasn't afraid to get dirty. So, he and Kimihito spent the greater part of an hour tackling the bathroom. By far, Centorea made the bathroom the dirtiest. Wet horse hair littered the bathroom floor and tub, which took quite a bit of elbow grease to get off. There was also an assortment of blue feathers from Papi, but they were an easier task to take care of.

Clearing bathrooms was a bit newer for the nobody. Kimihito was kind enough to lend him some working cloths so he could get them as dirty as possible. He also had to direct Roxas on the different chemicals to use for cleaning. But after Roxas got the gist of it, the work flew by. Even Kimihito was amazed at how much progress they were making. In no time flat, they were washing the rest of the dirty water down the drain.

"You are a life saver Roxas." Kimihito nearly wept as he looked at the pristine bathroom, sparkling with cleanliness.

"…Like I said, it's no big deal." Roxas responded.

"Well, since I have time on my hands, why don't we all get ready so we can do some shopping. You still need school supplies, right?"

"…Right." Roxas said quietly.

"Well then." Kimihito said as he slapped Roxas on the shoulder. "You will also need some more cloths as well. Smith did mention that the only pair you have was the ones you were wearing, right?"

Roxas nodded.

"Then we have a long day ahead of us." Kimihito said as he stretched his arms to the celling. He turned to walk out the door, but Roxas grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Um…" Roxas started, looking over at the man. In truth, Roxas was grateful this man had given him a place to live while he was stranded here. Just like how the organization took him in if he did missions for them, he would help Kimihito out when he needed it. "If you need help with something…just let me know."

Kimihito smiled as he ruffled Roxas's hair. "I appreciate that. But I don't want to run you ragged when you have to go to school."

"…School." Roxas said. He knew what school was based on the few questions he asked Zexion, but he had never attended before. All the knowledge he got was from the bookworm-ish nobody. And even then, he only taught Roxas the absolute basics. Apparently, school was a place where you could learn. And if there was one thing that Roxas lacked, it was knowledge. He needed to get it from somewhere, so he didn't object when Smith told him she signed him up for school.

Interpreting his silence as nervousness, Kimihito patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry too much about it Roxas. School is a great place. You can meet new people, make friends, and learn very important values that you will use for the rest of your life."

"…Friends." Roxas murmured, still not really understanding the concept of friendship. But, was someone like him capable of a bond like that? He was a nobody, but friendship was a common thing among every world. Would it be possible to obtain that if he stayed here?

It was a bit later that Roxas and Kimihito cleaned themselves up after all the chores. They descended the stairs and walked into the living room only to see Miia grinding her teeth at the Television screen. Papi was jumping up in down victoriously, her screen showing that she had once again thrashed Miia in a game of Mario card.

"Oh, Master, you finished chores much faster today." Centorea said as she noticed Roxas and Kimihito standing there.

"Well, I had a hand, but never mind that." He said as he scratched the back of his head and turned his attention to all in the room "everyone get ready, we are going to head out soon."

"Yeah! Date with Hubby!" Papi squealed.

"It's not a date air head!" Miia growled.

"Quite, we are just allowing Roxas to get supplies." Centorea agreed.

Papi didn't quite pay attention though as she flew out of the living room and up to her room in order to change into some more casual cloths. Miia and Centorea did the same, leaving Roxas and Kimihito alone in the living room.

Kimihito turned to Roxas with a smile. "While we are waiting, how about a round of super Smash bros?"

Roxas looked at him curiously. "Super…Smash bros?"

* * *

 **Authors note: Well, not much happened in this chapter. He was just introduced to Kimihito and the rest of the crew. There wasn't much interaction yet, but there will be in the future, trust me. And just a forewarning, Roxas will not have any romantic interest with any of his house mates. They will see him more as a little brother, so sorry if anyone wanted that to happen. And also, as you can tell by this chapter, Roxas is still pretty new to all this. It will be a long time before he will understand even basic stuff, let alone Romance.**

 **But anyway, Thank you for reading. Please leave a review because It really helps me out and motivates me to write. So if you want to see more of this story, leave a review. Thanks! The progression of this story is a little slow so far, but it will pick up. You got to do some world building. Thanks guys.**

 **Until then!**


	3. Chapter 3: Day 9 Cont

**Authors Note: Back again with another chapter. Thanks for your thoughts and reviews. In this chapter, I introduce my first OC. Now if you are wondering, I took some inspiration from the Monster girl encyclopedia (MGE). I am sure anyone who has watched Monser musume knows what that is. Some of the OC will corollate with that, while others will remain more on the monster musume side. Of course, they won't be as extreme as the ones in MGE.**

 **Anyway, that's all. Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Warning: I care more about people commenting on the story and pointing out my mistakes there. But if it's about spelling, then it's useless.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 3: Day 9 Cont.

Miia was in her room changing into some more casual cloths as she prepared to go out with everyone. While she pulled on her shirt, her mind went back to the new house guest. When she first heard from Kimihito that they were getting a new house guest, she was annoyed because she thought they were getting a new rival for her Darlings affection. He hadn't been specific, so she assumed it was another Liminal girl coming to live with them.

Imagine her surprise when she spotted the young boy sitting at the table. At first, she was a bit afraid that he would be disgusted by her snake parts, but when she looked into his eyes, those fears washed away instantly.

His eyes reflected nothing of the sort. No fear, disgust, or anything at all. They were simply curious, as if he were a child who was experiencing something for the first time. And it was utterly adorable, so much so that she couldn't help but tease him about being shy.

She surprised herself when she did that. Usually she was very shy around new people, but she felt at ease around this young boy. And the fact that he had helped Darling with chores so they could go out faster just served to add to his brownie points. It seemed that things were going to be a lot more fun with this kid around.

In another room, Centorea has similar thoughts, but here's were more alone the lines of his curious and oblivious nature. It may not have seemed like it, but she noticed when he was hesitant to shake her hand. It wasn't because he was grossed out by her, or that he was shy, as Miia thought. No, it was because he didn't quite understand the gesture. It was obvious to see based on the confused look on his face. That was a bit confusing for the Centaur. The boy had to be around 15 years old. Surly he knew what a handshake was supposed to mean. And if he didn't, why was that?

Buttoning up her shirt, she decided to keep an eye on this new boy. He had caught her attention and she wanted to find out more about her new house mate.

Lastly, Papi was just humming joyfully, happy that she had another friend that she could play games with. Her thoughts were not so complicated in the manner.

* * *

It was a glorious day outside as the group of human and liminal were walking down the street towards the local mall. Miia was happily humming along while holding one of Kimihito's arms between her breasts. The poor human could barely walk straight, but kept a smile on his face none the less.

Centorea was lightly glaring at Miia as she walked beside Kimihito on his other side, wishing she could be in the Lamia's position. But because she was quite a bit taller than the human, it wouldn't be that comfortable walking like that. Papi was oblivious to any tension as she happily preformed Arial cartwheels overhead.

Lastly, Roxas was deep in thought as usual. The game called Super Smash Bros was quite enthralling. Though he lost miserably to Kimihito, it was still extremely fun to make the character's fight each other in a chaotic battle. It reminded him of some of the fights he watched between other members of the organization. Now those battles could get out of hand if they went all out. Luckily there were rules that prevented that so they wouldn't end up destroying each other.

Taking his mind off the game, Roxas looked around to noticed that they were getting a lot of attention. People were staring, whispering, and pointing in their direction. At first, he didn't understand why, but then he noticed something about the crowd.

Nearly all of them were human. In fact, most of the Liminal in the area were walking right beside him and Kimihito. And by the rare chance that he saw another one, it was always accompanied by another human. All the attention from everyone was on the Liminal's like Miia, Centorea, and Papi. It was a bit confusing because he thought that Liminal's were being incorporated into society for a while now, so why were they staring and pointing like that?

Glancing over at Kimihito, the man didn't pay any heed to the attention, rather he was talking with Mia and Centorea about various things. But you could tell that Miia and Centorea were not oblivious to the attention. He could see it on their faces that it made them slightly uncomfortable. It seemed Kimihito was aware of this and was trying to occupy their attention with conversation.

Looking up at the buildings, Roxas had to admit that this place was a bit nicer than the world that never was. The sun was welcoming rather than the constant darkness he was used to. Also, the amount of people walking down the street and in and out of building was also a fascinating sight. He was not used to seeing so many people and it was a bit uncomfortable, especially since they were the center of attention.

He also warranted attention because of his appearance. His spikey golden hair and blue eyes stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowd. Not to mention some of the younger girls took a particular interest in him by the looks they were giving.

Again, Roxas didn't know how to interpreted those looks. So, he just focused on other things, like the assortment of merchandise that was hanging in some of the windows around the area. He had never seen so many things to buy. In fact, the extent of shopping he experienced was running to get Sea-salt Ice cream with Axel.

It didn't take long before Kimihito lead everyone to a huge building. It was extremely expansive with multiple logos decorating the sides. Roxas had to pause for a moment and take it all in. This world really didn't do anything small from what he had seen so far.

Kimihito noticed that Roxas wasn't following anymore. He glanced over at the boy, who was standing outside the building, looking up at it curiously. Miia, Centorea, and Papi also glanced back at the boy in confusion.

"Ro-Tax! Hurry up! You're being so slow!" Pipi exclaimed

"Papi, I think you mean Roxas." Kimihito chuckled as he turned back to the Nobody. "Anything Wrong Roxas?"

"Ah…" Roxas looked at him in confusion. "What is this place?"

"Huh? You have never been to a mall before?" Miia asked suddenly with her eyes wide in shock.

Roxas shook his head slowly.

"…What have you been doing with your life! You have been missing out. There is so much stuff in here to buy here. C'mon! I'll show you around" Miia said eagerly as she released Kimihito and grabbed hold of Roxas's hand. He only nodded once before he was dragged into the building behind the eager Lamia. It was obvious that she loved to shop.

Kimihito smiled softly when he saw how excited Miia was to show Roxas around. He was glad his house guests had taken a liking to him already. But he was also glad that Roxas didn't seem to have any ill feelings towards Liminal as well. That was a really hard quality to find in a person now days.

Centorea glanced over her shoulder at the Nobody, who was still being dragged by Miia. She had her eyebrow raised. "It's rather curious you have never seen a mall before. Did you not have one near the place where you grew up?"

"I…didn't" Roxas responded quietly. There wasn't much in the world that never was. Just massive buildings that didn't really serve a purpose, and a massive castle where all the higher nobodies lived. They didn't have a need for a shopping center or mall.

"Curious." Centorea whispered as she trotted back up to Kimihito. She could only guess he was from a remote village from some third world country if he had never heard of a mall before.

Miia pulled Roxas from window to window, pointing out all the clothing she though would look good on him. Roxas didn't say much because he didn't have a preference for clothing. Kimihito, Centorea, and Papi kept themselves entertained by Miia's excited antics for shopping. However, when they passed a nearby Lingerie store, Miia's completely forgot about Roxas as she slid up to Kimihito and pointed out some very seductive underwear she wanted to buy. The man's face lit up like a Christmas tree before he reminded Miia that they were here to get Roxas some supplies and cloths for school.

Again, Roxas didn't quite understand why Kimihito's face turned the same shade of red as a tomato. He had seen him act that way a few times when Miia would molest…Hug him, but it was still confusing.

He would just have to put that on his list of things to ask Kimihito when he had a few moments. Yes, he made a mental list of things to ask because his host seemed to be the most level-headed one around. If anyone was qualified to answer his questions, it would probably be him.

"Sorry, but our shop does not allow the likes of them."

Everyone in the party turned to the loud noise. Instantly, Miia and Centorea frowned in anger as they witnessed a shop owner confront a man and a Liminal. The man was a bit scruffy looking. He had long, dirty brown hair, and a messy unshaved face. His cloths consisted of a black hoodie, tattered and stained jeans, and white tennis shoes.

The Liminal standing next to him looked to be around Roxas's age. She had snow white hair and darkly tanned skin. Her most noticeable feature was her arms and legs however. They were coated in a very thick coat of white, fluffy fur. Her hands were more like large paws along with her feet, and she didn't wear any shoes. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a white t-shirt with a dark blue scarf around her neck.

Roxas noticed that she was looking down at the ground with a few shopping bags in her paws. Her arms were scrunched together to seem as if she was trying to make herself look as small as possible.

"Listen, I know how you feel, but You do realize that Liminal will continuously be incorporated into society. We just have to accept it." The man growled.

"I don't have to do Nothing! This is my shop and my rules. And my rules say no Liminal allowed. So, unless you keep that thing outside, you are not going to enter my shop!" The owner spat back.

"Ugh, Fine!" The man shot back as he rounded on the younger Liminal. "You always cause trouble. I swear it's almost not worth it when I agreed to be your host. Stay out here while I get what I need and don't make a scene. I will be right back"

"…Sorry." The liminal whispered as her head drooped a bit more. She watched as her host walked into the building behind her before she walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. She placed her bags down beside her as she clasped her paws together, still looking down at the ground.

"C'mon, let go." Kimihito whispered sadly to the others. Miia was shaking in anger at seeing a fellow Liminal treated that way. She was not the only one. Centorea wanted nothing more than to draw her sword and skewer the shop owner, as well as the man who was the young Liminal's host.

But they knew the rules. Liminal were not allowed to hurt humans, and vice versa.

"Can't we do something?" Miia said through clenched teeth.

"Anything we could do would only make things harder." Kimihito said sadly. It was the harsh truth about the world, but there were still a majority of people who discriminated against Liminal. "If that man was her host, that is a legal binding contact that I don't have power over." Even though he said that, Kimihito wished he could take all the unhappy Liminal away from their hosts and take care of them. But alas, he was just one man and he was already pushing his sanity by taking care of three…now four liminal in his house.

Reluctantly, Miia and Centorea conceded as they turned and started to walk away…In Miia's case, slithered. Roxas however was still watching the scene. There was something about what just happened that really didn't sit right with him. He didn't like the look the young liminal had on her face as she sat there alone with her eyes downcast. But why should he care?

He Turned away to see that Kimihito, Miia, Centorea, and Papi were moving rather quickly down Mall hallway. He was about to follow, but another sound caught his attention.

"Hey! Please stop."

Again, Roxas stopped before he turned his attention back to the Liminal. He frowned slightly when he noticed she was no longer sitting there alone. Her shopping bags were now on the ground, there contents spilled on the floor. Pencils, Erasers, notebooks, and other items were scattered everywhere while the Liminal was now looking up at a few others kids that were standing around her.

"Well look at this. It seems that you can't take the hint that we don't want Liminal in our school anymore." One boy said. His comment got a nod of approval from those who were surrounding the liminal girl.

There were five in total, there were three boys and two girls. They looked to be a couple years older than himself…well, as old as he looked, making them to be around 17.

"Please, leave me alone." The Liminal girl said quietly.

"What's the matter? You lose your stuff again? Had to bug your host to buy you more supplies huh?" One of the boys asked, a taunting smirk on his face. "I don't even know why freaks like you even need to go to school."

The Liminal girl didn't reply as she looked down at the ground again, slowly clasping her hands together while biting her lower lip.

"Seriously," One of the girls started as she gave a disgusted snort. "I don't even know how you're allowed in society. I mean just look at your arms and legs. Their Disgusting! Haven't you ever heard of shaving? And what's with those paws? Can you even dress yourself with those?"

Said Liminal girl slowly folded her arms, trying to hide them from view while completely embarrassed. At this point, tears started to prick the corner of her eyes as she tucked her feet under the chair.

"G-Go away." The girl said meekly.

"Awe look! We made her cry." One of the other boys sneered. "Maybe you should just go back to the mountains where you belong. It's not like you're wanted here."

As this point, whatever feeling Roxas had before, it suddenly multiplied. For some reason, he really didn't like what the was hearing. I mean, he REALLY didn't like it. He felt his eyes narrow a little. Why were these people being so mean to this girl? It didn't look like she did anything to them. She was just buying things, right? Wasn't that what you were supposed to do at this place.

His attention was suddenly drawn to the floor as one of the pencils rolled over to him, lightly tapping his shoe. Slowly, he bent down and picked it up, glancing back at the Liminal girl sitting in the midst of the bullies. Slowly walking forward, Roxas leaned down again and picked up a few pencils, Erasers, and other items off the ground as he approached the group. They only noticed him when he picked up one of the bags laying on the ground before placing the items he picked up into it. They then watched as Roxas walked past them, not even acknowledging there presents, before he stood in front of the Liminal girl.

Said girl noticed the new pair of shoes standing in front of her before she slowly looked up. She noticed one of her bags being held up right in front of her face. Giving a small sniff, she looked around the bag to see a new boy standing there, one that was around her age, had spikey blond hair, and blue eyes. She had never seen him before, so she glanced between the bag and his face a few times.

"…Here." Roxas said as he held out the bag of items for her.

Again, the girl glanced at the bag in confusion, wondering if this was some kind of trick. She slowly reached out to take it. "Um…Thanks." She whispered.

"Oi Oi! What do you think you are doing?" One of the older boys said as he stormed up to Roxas and slapped the bag out of his hand before the girl could take it, causing the contents to spill again.

Roxas blinked a few times, confused as to why the older boy did that. He looked up only to see him and his friends glaring.

"…What do you mean? Why did you do that?" Roxas asked.

"Can't you see she is one of those Liminal's? Why are you helping her?" One of the girls asked angrily before her face courted in disgust "unless…You're a liminal Lover! Gross!"

While the Liminal bit her lower lip again, crossing her arms in an attempt to hid them once more. She peaked over at Roxas, thinking this new boy would be grossed out by her. However, she was greatly surprised to see him completely ignoring the older kids. Instead, he leaned down to pick up the supplies and placing them in the bag again. He held out the bag for her to take with an expressionless look on his face.

Once again, the same boy tried to knock the bag out of his hand, but Roxas jerked it out of reach. "Stop." Roxas said coldly.

The older kids stared at him for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. "Can you believe this kid? Not only is he helping a Liminal, but he thinks he is so big and tough." One of the older kid mocked, causing the other kids to laugh.

Again, Roxas ignored them. He felt the bewildered Liminal in front of him slowly take the bag from his grasp. "Th-Thank you." She whispered shyly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she stared at his face.

Roxas looked around at the other bags lying on the ground, the school supplies scattered about. "Do you need some help picking these up?"

The girl couldn't believe what she was hearing. This human boy was offering to help her. She didn't know how to respond to that. "Um…Sure."

Roxas simply nodded, ignoring the older kids as he knelt at started picking up the bags and supplies that were littered around the floor. The Liminal also stared, still completely befuddled by the one boy that decided to give her a hand.

The older kids were not amused at being ignored. They stopped laughing and glared at the duo.

"Hey!" one of the boys said as he marched over to Roxas and grabbed his shirt, forcing the nobody to stand and face him.

"What do you want?" Roxas said, a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"Stop helping her. We are trying to teach her a lesson about infesting out school with those dirty Liminal." He growled.

Roxas's eyes narrowed slightly. The ugly feeling in his gut was growing as this kid continued to talk. And he really didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Let go." Roxas growled and without waiting, he slapped the older kids hand away from his shirt. The Kid growled as he tried to shove Roxas, but the nobody was as study as a brick wall. He pushed himself away rather than pushing Roxas. The boy stumbled slightly before he attempted to regain his composure. It was a second later that Roxas was surrounded by the other boys and two girls.

"You know, we could get into a shit-ton of trouble by attacking a Liminal, but there ain't nothing that stops me from teaching kids like you what happens when you try to help them." He said, a sneer on his face.

The Liminal girl dropped her bags and stood up with her eyes wide. "S-Stop! He isn't involved. Leave him alone." She begged while lightly grasping one of the older kid's arms.

"Gross, don't touch me!" The older kid growled as he wrenched his arm out of her grasp. "He got involved the moment he tried to help you."

"Yeah, lets show him a lesson." Another kid said as he approached Roxas, his fists up and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Roxas stared at him curiously, wondering why this kid wanted to fight. Though, he knew if he tried to fight them, he would hurt them badly. They were so weak.

So, that was the reason why Roxas didn't raise a finger to stop one of the kids as he threw a punch directly at his face. Just like the first kid in the detention center, punch had the same result. Instead of feeling like he punched a face, the older kid felt like he punched a metal beam. Instantly, his wrist folded and a nasty snap was heard through the mall.

There was a brief pause before the kid retracted his hand and let out a scream of pain. He fell to the ground as he clutched hand, which was now twisted in an odd angle. Roxas didn't even move from his spot. His head was turned slightly to the side, the only indication that the punch had landed.

That, and his recently healed lip split open again from when Zombina landed her punch.

Instantly, the kids were hovering over there friend in concern while he gingerly cradled his hand. Instantly, they looked over at Roxas with fury in their eyes.

"You're going to get it now you little shit!" another boy growled.

"What's going on here!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the man who was approaching. He was a man dressed in a blue and black uniform, the police badge firmly planted on his chest. The police man looked at the boy who was cradling his wrist, before glancing at Roxas, who had blood running down his lip.

It was easy to tell what had happened because very few adolescent kids knew how to throw a decent punch.

"It-It was them! They attacked him." The Liminal girl said, pointing her paw-like finger at the group of older kid before they could say anything.

"Shit! Run for it." One of the boys said, causing all of them to sprint off, even the boy with the broken wrist.

The police man rolled his eyes as he approached Roxas and the girl. "What happened?" he demanded.

"…He punched me." Roxas said simply.

"Yeah, I saw that, but why?"

"Officer, he was trying to help me." The Liminal said as she walked forward. "They were…Bullying me."

The officer gave a sigh as he rubbed his forehead. This wasn't the first time he had seen this. Liminal's were always bullied around here. "Well, it's a good thing you didn't fight back. I would have had to take you in. Are you her host?"

"…What?"

"Are you her host?"

Roxas paused for a moment, trying to understand the question.

"N-No, he isn't" The Liminal answered for him.

The officer frowned a bit. "Then where is your host? It is prohibited for a Liminal to wander around alone."

"Um…" The young Liminal fidgeted.

"Yukiko, what's going on!"

Everyone's attention was turned to a new figure who was walking towards them. Roxas recognized him as the man who was standing in front of the shop with the Liminal girl before he told her to wait outside. He also noticed that the girl suddenly shrunk back a bit and maneuvered behind Roxas as if to hide.

"I told you Yukiko, if you caused any trouble, I wouldn't take you out again." He growled, causing the girl to flinch.

"And you might be?" The officer asked, not very pleased with how this man was talking to the young liminal.

"I'm her host. It was wrong of me to leave her out here on her own briefly so I could enter the shop. Please forgive her for any trouble she had caused." He said as he pulled out his Host papers.

Roxas frowned as he glanced over his shoulder at the Liminal. She was lightly grasping the back of his shirt now. "…Your name is Yukiko?"

"Ah" The liminal gasped as she turned her attention back to Roxas, releasing his shirt. She noticed blood was running down his chin, but he didn't seem to be paying the least bit attention to it. "Y-Yes. Um…I'm so sorry you got hurt. It's all my fault." She said as she reached into one of her bags and pulled out a white cloth.

"…No, it's not." Roxas said tonelessly as he turned to her.

Yukiko blinked in confusion as she gently reached up to wipe the blood away. Roxas wasn't used to people being in his space like that so he wanted to lean back, but he didn't feel any ill intent from her, so he let her do as she pleased. To his surprise, she began to gently clean off the blood from around his mouth.

"What do you mean? You got hurt because you wanted to help me."

"…Why does that make it your fault?" Roxas asked curiously. "I got hurt because I got punched. That it. Besides, it didn't really hurt."

The young girl paused as she thought about his response. It sounded like he was trying to be tough, but he said it with a completely straight face. She didn't know how to respond. Instead, she just silently cleaned the blood off his lip with a tiny smile on her face.

"Roxas! There you are!"

Roxas turned to the familiar voice of Kimihito as he came running down the mall hallway with everyone else in toe. As they approached, Kimihito noticed the small smudge of blood on his lip. "What happened?" he asked with a frown.

"…Don't know. Some kid just punch me." Roxas replied. He really didn't know why the older boy punched him anyway. He didn't understand the reasoning. It was something about teaching him a lesson about helping a Liminal, but why helping a Liminal make people angry? It didn't make any sense.

"You got punched! Why? Who hath harmed you? I shall show them the edge of my sword." Centorea said as she rested a hand on the hilt of her blade.

"I don't think that is a good idea Centorea." Kimihito responded as he looked over at Roxas again before he noticed the young Liminal girl standing right behind him.

Said girl squeaked nervously as she saw Kimihito's gaze upon her. "…Sorry, he was punched because he was helping me with bullies."

"…Are you kidding me!" Miia suddenly exclaimed angrily as she slithered up to Roxas, examining his face. "You're hurt."

"It's fine." Roxas responded dully.

"It's not fine!" Miia protested.

Yukiko's eyebrows raised in surprise when she noticed all these Liminal gathered around this boy. It seemed that he was either their host, or lived with their host. But either way, it amazed her to see someone her age interacting with Liminal's just like he would humans. Biting her lower lip, she tugged his sleeve, causing him to look over at her. "Your name is Roxas?"

Roxas nodded looking into her teal eyes without disgust, fear, or anything negative. He was merely curious.

"…Thanks for helping me." She said quietly with a sniff. Tears peaking the corner of her eyes again.

Roxas frowned. Why did she sound so sad? "…Don't worry about it." He responded as he turned back to Kimihito. "We still need to go shopping, Right?"

Kimihito glanced between Roxas and the girl a few times, obviously confused as to what was going on. "yeah, but are you ok?

"I'm fine."

"Ok then." Kimihito said, glancing over at the young Liminal before looking at her host showing the police man his host papers. "The shop is just down the hallway." He said before he turned to the younger Liminal girl with a warm smile. "Sorry, my name is Kimihito, will you be ok?"

"Um…" Yukiko fumbled, not sure how to react to such a warm smile. "Y-yeah, I will be find." She finished as she gave an uneasy glance at her host.

"…Ok"

Roxas gave Yukiko one last nod and was about to leave again before he felt the girl tug his sleeve again. "Um…Roxas…" She started, getting the boy to look over at her. She was extremely nervous by the way she was rubbing her arm with one of her paws. "Why did you help me?"

"Hmm…" Roxas hummed. She asked a good question. Why did he help her? He didn't even know her. But for some reason, he didn't like seeing those kids pick on her. It was almost an urge of some sort to give her a hand. "I guess…because I felt like it."

"Then!" Yukiko fumbled, grasping his sleeve a bit tighter. "Um…C-Can we be friends?"

Roxas blinked a few times. Again, the word friends, he still didn't know much about the concept of friendship. It was another question he needed to ask Kimihito. But he remembered when smith offered to be his friend. So, it was a good thing, right? Besides, the look on the girl's face was so full of hope that even though he didn't know what it was like to have a heart, he knew hers would break if he said no.

"…Sure." Roxas replied, a tiny smile perking the corner of his mouth.

Instantly, a watery smile formed on the Liminal's face. It was so wide that is showed off her pearly whites. Without any warning, the Girl spread her arms wide open and enveloped Roxas in a large bearhug. "Thank you so much!"

Roxas felt his eyes widen as the Liminal girl pressed her warm body against his. Sure, he had been hugged by Tio before, but this was much more gentle. Plus, he could still breath. The thick coat of fur on her arms was incredibly soft as it brushed against the back of his neck while her chin rested on his shoulder. His arms were slightly raised in surprise and his body stiffened because he didn't expect the Liminal to suddenly latch onto him.

But there was one thing he noticed when she threw her arms around his neck. The ugly feeling he got from those kids earlier was suddenly replaced by something much warmer. He didn't know what it was, but it felt much different than anything he had experienced in his short life. It wasn't bad either, Rather, it was soothing and caused the corner of his mouth to perk just a bit more.

"Awe! That's so sweet!" Miia gushed as she glanced over at her darling.

"Indeed." Centorea said as she smiled at the sight. It seemed she had nothing to worry about with this boy around. If he had the courage to defend a Liminal against a group of humans, then he had her trust.

"Papi want's a hug too!" The bird girl exclaimed as she landed on the ground next to Kimihito. She was about to launch herself at Roxas and Yukiko, but was stopped when two arms and a tail constricted around her body.

"If you want a hug, then I will give you one. But give them a moment." Miia said. She was a sucker for young and adorable romance. She didn't want Papi to ruin it.

"Yukiko, let him go right now!" the host said as he finished talking to the police man.

Instantly, Yukiko jumped back. An embarrassed expression crossed her face when she realized what she did. "I…I-I'm so sorry about that. I couldn't help myself. I am a Yeti after all."

"…A Yeti?"

"Yeah, a Yeti is- "

"Yukiko, we need to get going." Her host growled.

"I-I understand Akio." Yukiko said as she glanced up at Roxas's bewildered face, hoping she didn't ruin her first ever friendship. "I hope to see you someday soon."

"…Yeah." Roxas responded quietly.

"Now Yukiko!" Akio said before he turned and started to storm away.

Yukiko gave a nod to Roxas and the rest of his party. "Bye."

"…Goodbye." Roxas responded as he watched the young Liminal turn and follow her host through the mall hallway. As she walked away, Roxas noticed that all happiness gone from her voice. He vaguely heard her host say something else, but he was a bit to fixated on the whole event that just took place. The strange ugly feeling he got when he saw those kids picking on Yukiko, and then the warmth that spread through his body when she thanked and hugged him. What were these strange feeling he was getting? It was supposed to be impossible.

"She was really cute, aye Roxas?" Miia asked as released the energetic harpy and she slithered up to Roxas, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

"Yeah." He said quietly. Yukiko was very attractive, despite her unique features, but he didn't really know why that should matter.

"I have to say, I am impressed with you young man." Centorea said as she walked up to him. "I didn't expect you to go out of your way to help her."

"…Ok." Roxas responded, not quite sure how to respond to that statement.

"Well, this has been exciting." Kimihito said as he glanced at all the attention they were getting from everyone in the mall. Quite the crowd had gathered to see what was going on. "But I suggest we get moving. If we hurry, we can get back and I can start on lunch."

"LUNCH!" Papi squealed as she took off into the air, making sure not to move to fast to avoid slamming into the roof.

* * *

They spent the rest of their time wandering through the mall, taking Roxas to numerous stores to get clothing, school supplies, a phone, a laptop, and everything else he needed. Luckily, the expenses were covered by the government, taking a huge burden off Kimihito's shoulders.

By the time they walked out of the store, everyone's hands were full and Roxas was wearing a new outfit. It consisted of dark blue jeans, black and white Nikes, a black shirt, and a dark blue short-sleeve button up shirt. Thankfully, Miia was rather good at fashion choices because Roxas didn't really care for the subject of clothing. But he did admit that he looked pretty good.

When they reached the house, everyone was exhausted. It was a little past noon, but everyone was eager for a meal. When they walked through the front door, Miia was humming happily about the fun time she had with her darling during the day, while Centorea kept reminding her that the rest of them were there as well.

"So, what did you think Roxas?" Asked Kimihito as he walked up Stairs with Roxas following him.

"…It was interesting. There were a lot of people there." Roxas responded, wondering where they were going in the large house.

"yeah, that's one thing about being a host for Liminal, you always attract a lot of attention. By the way, this is your room."

Kimihito stopped in front of a door in the hallway. It was next to Miia's room and across the way from Centorea. Kimihito had the room closest to the stairs.

"My room?" Roxas asked.

"Of course. What, were you expecting to sleep on the couch?" Kimihito joked.

"…Maybe." Roxas admitted. When he first got here, he didn't think that they would have an extra bedroom for him.

"That's just silly." Kimihito said as he opened to door to the room. Inside, it was decently spacious. Just enough to move around comfortable. There was a desk in front of the window, and a full-size bed in the corner. The closet was decent sized as well and would be able to fit his new wardrobe.

"What do you think?" Kimihito asked.

"…Its nice." Roxas responded. It was about the side of the one he had in the castle at the world that never was.

"I know it's a little bare right now, but you can decorate it later. Why don't you start unpacking while I get lunch ready. Sound good?" Kimihito asked.

"yeah, it does. And…Thanks" Roxas said as he glanced over at his host.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Kimihito smiled as he patted Roxas's shoulder. He placed down the bags and left the room. Roxas stared around the empty room for a few seconds before he did as Kimihito suggested. So much had happened in the past few days that he could hardly take it all in. Just a couple days ago, he was on a mission with Axel, now he was unpacking cloths that were bought for him, interacting with other species called Liminal, and experiencing life where people passionately expressed their emotions.

Things were very interesting right now.

* * *

It was well past noon now and Kimihito was cooking lunch for everyone. Right as Roxas finished unpacking, Papi banged on his door and dragged him back into the living room to play some more video games while Miia and Centorea watched. Again, Roxas was not that good at Mario cart, but he was improving. It was obvious that this was Papi's favorite game.

"So Roxas," Miia started.

Roxas grunted, signaling that he was listening despite still focusing on the game.

"Give us a detailed version of what happened in the mall." She asked, her mind already going wild with an overexaggerated tail of how Roxas confronted the bullies, dramatically telling them to leave the fair maiden alone. Then they attacked him, nearly beating him to death while Yukiko begged them to stop. Seeing that her train of thought was not stopping soon, it was impossible to tell where the story was going from there.

"I admit, I am rater curious as well." Centorea said, glancing over at the nobody.

"…I don't know. Some older kids knocked Yukiko's bags to the ground. I was helping to pick them up, but they got mad for some reason." Roxas said quietly.

Miia groaned at the lack of details. It was hard to keep her imagination going when he gave an oversimplified version like that. But then she growled when she was reminded of what happened. She remembered when a few people called her names when darling took her on a date a while back. Darling was forced to take a hit from her to stop her from being deported.

"So, what happened? Did you fight back?" Centorea asked.

Roxas turned the Wii remote, causing Mario to slam into a wall, before slowly shaking his head. "He punched me, and broke his wrist." Roxas said simply.

Miia and Centorea stared at him for the longest time. "You didn't fight back?"

"I would have hurt them badly." He said as he fell off the rainbow road map.

"So?" Miia responded in annoyance. "They deserved it after they gave that poor girl a hard time."

"While they did deserve it, I think Roxas made the right decision." Centorea said, looking at Roxas with approval. "A good warrior knows how to fight, but a great one knows when to not. You would have probably got in trouble for fighting back. You have my respect."

"…Thanks."

"But you got hurt!" Miia exclaimed.

"It…didn't hurt." Roxas sighed as he finished the game in 11th place. It was a slight improvement, but he still needed more practice until he mastered the art of Mario cart.

"Still," Centorea said as she glanced over at his face. Besides the split lip, there was no other making on his face to indicate that he had been struck. "You are rather durable. It makes me wonder what kind of Liminal you are."

Roxas glanced over at her calculating stare before turning away. "I wonder that myself." He whispered as Papi started up a new game. His whisper was so quiet that Centorea almost didn't catch it. Her frowned deepened, but she didn't ask any more questions when Papi offered a Wii remote to her and Miia so they could play 4 players. Still, Centorea had a few questions on her mind about her new housemate. Though he did have her trust, no one knew what he was or where he came from.

It was a few games later before Kimihito stepped out of the kitchen to see all his house guests sitting on the couch and playing the game. It made him smile to see Miia attempting to playfully shove Roxas to make him loose control of his cart. Unfortunately, this only caused her to lose control herself back because Roxas was like a statue. His face was comically focused on the screen, concentrated on how to control the cart. Miia lost control again, causing her to drop all the way into last place. Papi was making car noises as she raced down the track, easily in first place. Centorea was in second, but like Roxas, her face was courted in concentration.

He chuckled a bit, almost tempted to let them continue. It was nice to see all of them getting along instead of fighting over him. He had to admit, even one day with Roxas, everything seemed to go a lot easier.

He was about to call them for lunch, but the doorbell rang. He paused, wondering who it was before his face fell into a deadpanned expression. He could already guess who was coming over for lunch. Walking to the door, he opened it to see exactly who he expected.

"Smith."

"Darling! I thought I would just swing by to see how the new housemate was doing." She said with a playful salute.

"…And the fact I had lunch ready had nothing to do with it I'm sure."

"Oh, don't be like that. So are you going to invite me in, or leave me out in the cold."

"I'm tempted to leave you out."

"Ugh! So, mean. Have mercy and let me enjoy a lunch without paperwork." Smith begged.

Kimihito chuckled as he moved out of her way and gestured into the house.

"Thanks darling. Love ya." She winked, causing Kimihito's face to light up.

"Right, well you can tell everyone that lunch Is ready while I set up." Kimihito grumbled.

"If that's what it takes to enjoy your cooking, I will gladly do it." Smith replied as she vacated to the living room. When she entered, she also saw the heartwarming sight of Roxas playing video games with the rest of the tenants. Miia was using her tail in an attempt to tickle Roxas, but he was showing no indication that he noticed. She was glad they had taken a liking to him so quickly. Heck, it had been less than half a day.

"Alright kiddo's, playtime is over. Time to eat lunch."

"LUNCH!" Papi exclaimed in excitement as she nearly threw the Wii remote into the TV. She completely forgot about the game and dashed into the kitchen.

Smith giggled as everyone else took a calmer approach by pausing the game. "That girl has a one-track mind."

"You can say that again" Miia agreed.

They all walked into the kitchen to see Papi eagerly waiting to be fed. Kimihito was calmly placing everything on the table while trying to keep the eager harpy away from the food. It didn't take long though before everyone was seated and had their plates full.

"Oh, By the way Roxas, here you go." Smith said as she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a card.

Roxas perked an eyebrow as he reached over at took it. "What is this?"

"It's your host badge. Since you were tested to be human, I am allowing you to be a host so you can take the girls out whenever Kimihito is gone. Also, it might be helpful when you start school."

"…Thanks." Roxas said quietly as he tucked the card into his newly bought wallet.

"Don't mention it honey." She said as she took another bite of food. "How was your day so far?"

Roxas paused in mid-bite. "It was…good."

"No, it wasn't" Miia piped up, causing smith to look over at her.

"What happened."

"Roxas got punched in the face because he defended a Liminal." Miia said angrily.

"Really?" Smith said as she glanced over at Roxas, who had quietly gone back to eating. "You didn't fight, back did you?"

Roxas shook his head. "The kid broke his hand. It didn't hurt."

"That's not the point! He got punched for no reason. He Should have fought back!" Miia exclaimed, obviously passionate about this subject.

"You have to realize Miia, he made the right decision. He is starting school soon and any violent incident could get him expelled. They are particularly strict about that since they are incorporating Liminal."

"That's not the reason I didn't fight back." Roxas said, causing everyone to look over at him. He took another bite of food before looking up. "It just wasn't worth it. I knew he couldn't hurt me."

"But doesn't it make you angry?"

"…No." Roxas responded simply. He didn't feel anger. He didn't feel anything…But then again, there was something he felt when he saw those kids picking on Yukiko. He didn't know how to describe it, but he didn't like it.

There was an awkward silence as everyone watched Roxas eat his food. His responses were extremely strange. For someone who was as young as him, he should have lashed out and tried fighting back. Instead, he simply didn't care.

"…Well anyway, lets change the subject. How are you all getting along?"

"Great! Roxas likes to play with me!" Papi said with a mouth full of food.

"Papi, swallow your food before you talk." Kimihito scolded.

"Oops, Papi forgot." She said with a laugh. "Roxas plays Mario Kart with me, but he is bad."

"Let me guess, you have never played before Roxas?"

Roxas shook his head.

"Geeze, where have you been living all your life? Was Zombina right? Were you raised under a rock?" Smith asked jokingly.

"…No"

Smith laughed again, seeing that Roxas still wasn't willing to divulge information about himself just yet. "Well, I didn't just come by to deliver Roxas's badge."

"Yeah, it was to mooch off hubby, right?" Papi said cheerfully.

"Well…That too, but I needed to let Darling and the rest of you know something."

That got Kimihito's attention. He glanced over at Smith with and eyebrow raised. "What's up?"

"Well, there has been a light adjustment to the Cultural exchange bill, just a minor one." She started, adjusting her glasses in the progress.

"…Go on." Kimihito said, not particularly enjoying the tone in Smith's voice.

"Well, the change allows Marriage between humans and Liminal's, however, they don't really have a way to make sure it works, so test subjects were chosen."

Kimihito had a sinking feeling in his gut. "Don't tell me…"

"Yep Darling. You have been chosen to be a test subject. You must choose one of these girls to marry." She said as she turned to Roxas. "Since technically you are a special case Liminal, you are exempt from this rule. That…and your still just a kid. Enjoy youth while you can."

The entire table went silent. Kimihito felt cold sweat drip down his face as he glanced over at his…prospective fiancés. The blood drained from his face as he saw how the new information impacted them. All of them were shocked, but also determined in a very frightening way.

"you-" Kimihito started before he turned to Smith "You got to be kidding me! How can you even ask that of me! I'm not ready to get married yet!" he yelled.

"Darling. Liminal's and Humans are going to be interacting from now on. Since some species like Lamia and Harpies only consist of females, they have to find a human male to marry."

"That-That's not the point! How can you ask me to choose this split second? That's impossible." Kimihito screamed back.

"I believe in you Darling. It anyone can figure this out, it's you." Smith said comply as she stood from the table. "Look at the time. Thanks for the meal darling, but I must be heading out."

Kimihito was at a loss for words as he watched Smith walk to the front door. "Wait Wait WAIT! Your leaving? Just like-" the sound of the door slamming echoed through the house. "…That."

A very awkward silken spilled over the table like a title wave. Even Roxas looked on curiously at what just happened. What had smith said that caused Kimihito to lose his cool like that? What was marriage supposed to be?

The tension could be cut with a knife. No one spoke a word as they finished lunch. It was probably the most awkward moment in Roxas's entire life…Granted he has only been alive for a little over a week. Kimihito was sweating nervously as he avoided eye contact with everyone at the table. Even Papi was quiet as she finished her food.

Again, everyone quickly vacated to their rooms after lunch was over, leaving Roxas and Kimihito alone in the kitchen to clean up the mess. However, Roxas could tell that Kimihito was extremely stressed right now. He wished he could help, but there was one problem.

Roxas didn't know why Kimihito was stressed? He didn't know what marriage was supposed to be, but it seemed to be the source. It was easy to tell how worried the man was because he had already broken three dishes.

"Are…Are you ok?" Roxas asked as he swept up another shattered dish on the ground.

"Um…y-yeah…No." Kimihito admitted truthfully.

Roxas watched Kimihito place his soapy hands on the counter, his head dipped slightly. "Marriage is a big decision Roxas. To be expected to choose one of them, it's hard."

So, he was right, this…Marriage…Was the cause of Kimihito's stress. It was obvious that he needed some time to think.

"…Ill finish up here. It looks like you need some time to think." Roxas said quietly, wondering if that was the right thing to say.

Kimihito glanced over at the boy, his eyes widening slightly. A small smile creeped along his face as he nodded. "I really appreciate that Roxas. Thanks." Kimihito said as he rinsed the suds off his arms and walked up the stairs to his room.

Roxas shrugged. He only offered because it was obvious that he needed some time on his own and cleaning up would have prevented that from happening. So Slowly, Roxas cleaned up the rest of the mess in the kitchen.

* * *

Night had finally fallen and Roxas had not seen anyone for the entire day. Everyone stayed in their own rooms while he sat on the couch, playing his new favorite game, super smash bros. But even as he played, his mind raced with questions about today. So much so that his brain was about to explode. He didn't understand what was going on at all in this society. From the incident that happened at the mall, to how everyone reacted when Smith made the announcement about marriage. He didn't understand the way people around him reacted to certain things.

But most of all, he didn't understand the way HE reacted to certain things. There was this strange…urging he felt when he saw those kids bullying Yukiko, an urge to help her. But that's not all, there was also a strange urge to help Kimihito when he was cleaning, or doing some other chore. And lastly, when Yukiko hugged him when he agreed to be her friend…that was the strangest reaction he had yet.

"What is happening to me?" Roxas asked as he slowly put down the Wii Remote, allowing his virtual enemy to beat him to a pulp. He needed answers somehow, and quick. And in this entire household, there seemed to be only one person who was level-headed enough to give him answers.

Standing from his seat on the couch, Roxas left the living room and walked up the stairs. He needed someone to talk to, badly.

Right when he reached the top of the stairs, he saw something rather…interesting. Miia was right in front of Kimihito's door. She was also wearing…The strangest clothing he had ever seen in his life. It barely covered anything on her body.

"Umm…Miia?" Roxas asked.

Instantly, Miia's gaze shot over to him, her eyes wide in shock. A split second later and her snake body wrapped around her lower half before she let out a scream. "NO! Only Darling is supposed to see this!" She exclaimed as she whipped her lower half directly at Roxas.

Seeing the speed and power of that strike, Roxas decided to not let this one hit him. He ducked, allowing the tail to wiz over his head and smash into the wall, creating a large hole in the sheet rock. Luckily, Miia quickly slithered back into her room, balling her eyes out dramatically about how embarrassed she was. She slammed the door shut, leaving Roxas a confused mess.

"What…The hell?" He said as he turned to Kimihito's door.

* * *

Kimihito's mind was in utter turmoil. When smith dropped the bomb, he knew right away that things were going to be very different from now on. He was already aware of Miia's, Centorea's, and Papi's feelings towards him, and now he had to choose between them and hurt the others. Just the thought of making anyone sad made him want to tear his heart out.

"Damn you Smith!" Kimihito said as he flailed around in his bed. Yes, not the most masculine thing to do, but he didn't care.

"NO! Only Darling is supposed to see this!"

Kimihito shot his attention at the door as a loud crash echoed through the house before a door slammed.

"…What was that?" Kimihito said out loud, fear imminent in the voice.

 _KNOCK KNOCK_

"Shit" Kimihito whispered, wondering if it was one of the girls. He didn't know if he was ready to see them or not, but he knew he couldn't run away from it forever. "Come in."

To his great surprise and relief, Roxas was the one who opened the door. He looked completely confused and surprised.

"oh, it's you. What happened out there?"

"…I don't have a clue." Roxas said as he closed the door behind him. "I saw Miia…does she usually wear something that…revealing?"

Kimihito's face blanched when he heard that. If what Roxas said was true, then Miia was serious about seducing him that night. He thanked whatever God there was that Roxas had shown up when he did. "Um…No, she doesn't really do that. But what's up Roxas?"

Roxas stared at the older guy for a few seconds. "I…Just wanted to ask something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"…What's marriage?"

* * *

 **Authors Note: There you go. Another chapter for you all. I introduce my first OC, Yukiko. She is a Yeti monster like Miti from the Online game. However, there are a couple of differences. Once, she is more like the Yeti from MGE when it comes to looks. Also, this was more of another world building chapter, developing Roxas's relationship with his house mates and with Kimihito. Kimihito will be like a big brother/father figure who will give advice and answer questions and such. Next chapter will hopefully involve school, but we will see.**

 **Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you did, please leave a review. It really helps me out. Thanks!**

 **Until then!**


	4. Chapter 4: Day 9 & 10

**Authors note: Here we go again. Thanks for all your comments on the story. I really appreciate it. This chapter was a bit interesting to write, but I got it done. There were still a few things I needed to do before I had Roxas start school, but next chapter will be the first day that Roxas will starts school. Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy this chapter. And if you did, please leave a review and let me know what you thought. Thanks.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

 **Warning: There will be a few misspellings here and there, but there are always going to be those who still call them out. What's funny is that they think they are helping. Those reviews are completely worthless though.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Days 9 & 10

It took a few moments for Kimihito's mind to process what Roxas just asked. He wasn't serious, right? He had to be pulling his leg. Who in their right mind didn't know what marriage was? Even in the most ancient cultures around the world, marriage was always something people recognized and celebrated. Meaning that Roxas should be familiar with the word at least. But here he was, asking about it with a completely straight face.

When Roxas first came to the house, Kimihito knew there was something off about this boy. The way he stared at a video game with wonder, as if he was looking at it for the first time, not knowing what a mall was, and even his absurdly oblivious nature for someone his age. He had never quite met someone like this before. But out of all those strange things, this one took the cake.

"Um…Care to repeat that?" Kimihito asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. He was hoping that Roxas was either joking or maybe he heard wrong.

"…You seemed very stressed after Smith mentioned marriage." Roxas started, causing Kimihito to nod. "But what is it? Why are you so worried about it?"

Nope, Kimihito did not hear Roxas wrong. This kid was asking what marriage was…And worst of all, Kimihito had to be the one to answer the question.

"Roxas…" Kimihito started, completely forgetting about his own personal crisis for a moment. "…Marriage is widely knowing around the world. How do you not know what it is?"

"…Never had the chance to learn." Roxas said simply.

"No one taught you? Who raised you? They should have taught you about something like this." Kimihito said, a feeling of worry building up in his chest.

"I…I don't know how to answer that question. I…don't remember much." Roxas said, trying to keep as much information away from his host as possible. But he still wanted to give enough to explain why he didn't know.

"You don't remember anything?"

Roxas shook his head. "I don't remember anything past the last 9 days." While that statement was true, Roxas didn't reveal the true reason why.

Now Kimihito was floored. This was a far more unusual case then what he bargained for when he agreed to take Roxas in. But also, that explained so much about his particularly odd behavior.

"So, you have amnesia?" Kimihito asked.

"Amnesia?" Roxas asked, not quite familiar with the word.

"Yeah, you lost your memory." Kimihito clarified.

"…yeah." Roxas confirmed. Thought it was half true because he never had memories in the first place.

"Ohhhh!" Kimihito said as he leaned back on his bed, a look of realization crossing his face. If this was the case, then the reason Roxas was so oblivious was because he didn't remember anything. "So, then your name? Is that the only thing you remember?"

Roxas shook his head. He wasn't going to say he was from another world, but it would hurt to share a little bit of his tiny past.

"…When I was found, I was giving the name Roxas. I don't remember my real name." Roxas said without a hint of emotion.

"Dang." Kimihito said sadly. "Usually people who experience amnesia remember their name at least. So, who found you?"

"…I don't know. They just called themselves Organization 13. Who they were, or what they wanted, I didn't know."

"Huh." Kimihito said, perplexity crossing his face. "Do you know where they are?"

Roxas shook his head.

"Do you want to go back?"

That question caused Roxas to pause. He had asked himself that a few times before, but he always came to the same answer. Staring into Kimihito eyes, he gave his answer. "…I don't see a reason to."

"What do you mean?" Kimihito asked, patting a spot on the bed next to him. Roxas cocked his head at the gesture, causing the Liminal host to lightly chuckle. "Sit down."

Roxas walked over and sat down next to the host. "…I only knew them for 7 days. I don't have a reason to go back to them."

"You don't? didn't you have any friends?"

"…Friends…I don't think I was possible for people like us to be friends." Roxas said quietly before he turned to look up at his host. "I…I would rather stay here. The people here are so…Lively."

Kimihito didn't show it, but he managed to catch Roxas's earlier statement. It bothered him a little, but he masked it with a laugh. "Yeah, the girls can get a bit rowdy. But it makes life very interesting."

"It does. I want to learn more…And I don't think I can if I go back to the organization." Roxas finished as he rested his intertwined fingers in his lap while looking at the ground.

"Well…" Kimihito started as he scratched the back of his head. "If you don't want to leave, you are welcome to stay here as long as you want."

Roxas looked back up at his host. "…Really?"

"Of course! Besides, I think the girls have grown fond of you already." Kimihito said with a smile as he ruffled Roxas's hair.

"…Really? I haven't done anything to-"

 _CRASH_

Roxas didn't know what happened. One second he was talking to Kimihito, and the next it felt like he was hit by a freight train. The window shattered and a body slammed into him, sending him flying off the bed and onto the floor. A couple talons dug into his shoulder kinda painfully, giving him a decent scratch. Whatever hit him landed direly on top, pinning him to the ground. The other talons latched onto his leg, preventing him from standing.

"Hubby! Have sex with me so I can lay an egg!"

Again, Roxas looked up to find himself staring directly into the blue eyes of Papi. Her eyes were full of excitement and…something else that he couldn't quite pinpoint. She was wearing a very loose shirt, but what caught his attention was the fact that she wasn't wearing any pants. Again, this was very strange. Why was everyone running around half naked today?

Papi's excitement was instantly replaced by confusion as she noticed it was Roxas she was pinning to the ground.

"Ruck-sack? You're not hubby!" Papi said as she Jumped off the nobody, looking around the room until she saw Kimihito's face. Kimihito gave an unmanly eep as he saw Papi's gaze land on him. The look in her eyes was full of lust, something that was pretty out of character for her. His face instantly paled as he watched Papi crouch down, ready to pounce on her prey. He could do little to stop her as She slammed into him, pinning him to his bed.

"Papi! What has gotten into you?" Kimihito gasped before he noticed Papi's lack of underwear. "W-WHAT IS GOING ON!"

"Papi wants to make and egg with you. Papi is an adult, so you don't have to worry." Papi said as she started to move towards Kimihito's crotch.

The question about marriage was completely forgotten at this point as Roxas watched the scene unfold from his spot on the ground. He had so many questions that he wanted to ask about the new situation. For example, what was Papi doing without pants on? Why did she slam into him? Why was Kimihito freaking out? And why was Papi talking about laying an egg?

Roxas slowly sat up before he turned to Kimihito and Papi. Kimihito was desperately trying to pry the Harpy off, but was very unsuccessful. She had her talons painfully fastened around his legs to prevent him from pushing her off.

"um…What is go-"

"MASTER! /DARLING!"

Again, Roxas was interrupted when the door was smashed to smithereens as two more liminal burst into the room. They nearly trample over the poor nobody had he not leaped out of harm's way, even more questions bearing down on his mind.

Centorea was there as well as Miia. Miia had yet to change out of her revealing outfit but Centorea was wearing her usual attire.

"I heard danger Master! As your knight, I need to make sure you are well." Centorea said as she stood there.

"What did Roxas do to you! I know I heard you two talk-" Miia said before she noticed the very compromising position Kimihito and Papi were in. Instantly, fury burned in her eyes. "GET OFF HIM RIGHT NOW! DARLING IS MINE!"

"Hubby is mine! We are making and egg!" Papi retorted, leaping off the mangled body of Kimihito before standing possessively in front of him.

"Master Belongs to neither of you. He will father my…my…" Centorea started before a large blush crossed her face.

All three Liminal looked especially dangerous right now as they faced each other. Roxas was watched with the most curious look on his face. He had no idea what was going on or why they were all acting this way. It was just a few hours ago that they were all playing video games together in peace. Why were they acting so…Insane?

Glancing over at Kimihito, Roxas noticed he staring at the scene with an expression that was almost as confused as his. Then their eyes locked for a moment before Kimihito mouthed something to Roxas.

'Save me'

Roxas cocked his head curiously as he glanced at the serious tension between the three liminal. He could see what Kimihito was afraid of. He knew humans here were fragile and these three could break him quite easily. Glancing over at Kimihito, he nodded.

"Darling will be with me. I was here first, so I get dibs!" Miia hissed.

"No! Hubble likes me the most. I will be his wife." Papi shot back.

"Master will choose none of you. After all, a master always has their knight to rely on. Isn't that right Master?" Centorea said with confidence as she glanced over at where Kimihito was supposed to be. The other two girls looked over there as well, only to see nothing. Kimihito was gone.

"…"

"MASTER/DARLING/HUBBY?" They all screamed out as they took off out of the room to find the distressed human.

* * *

When he mouthed for Roxas to help him, Kimihito didn't think he actually would. The two were running through the hallways at an incredibly fast pace. Roxas had Kimihito over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he vaulted down the stairs, landing rather gently on the ground before racing through the kitchen. Kimihito didn't even remember when Roxas grabbed him and exited the room. It all happened so fast.

Roxas raced into the living room before he set the dazed host down onto the couch. He wasn't even out of breath.

"w-w-Wow." Kimihito said as he shook his head a few times. "You're…pretty strong."

"…Thanks." Roxas said as he glanced over at the hallway. "What's going on? Why are they acting like that?"

"I don't have a clue." Kimihito Responded as he shakily stood on his feet. "But for right now, I think we better hide. I don't think the news about my marriage would be enough for them to react like this."

"…Is it really that big of a deal?"

"It is…" Kimihito started "But saying this is overreacting is an understatement. Something weird is going on."

 _RING RING_

Kimihito's cell phone went off like a fog horn. It was instantly followed by a high shriek of "IN THE LIVING ROOM!"

Kimihito paled again as he grabbed Roxas's arm and dashed down another hallway while answering the phone in the other hand.

"What?" He whispered as he ran into the laundry room, Roxas following right behind.

"Oh, you're still alive. That's good to know." Smith's voice said through the phone.

Based on the tone of her voice, she knew exactly what was going on. "Smith, the girls are acting crazy! What's happening?" Kimihito hissed as he pressed his other ear against the closed door. Centorea's hooves pounded the floor as she ran by.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that tonight is a full moon. For some reason, it makes monster girls extremely chaotic and passionate. I just forgot to mention it to you. My bad."

"…You just lost your breakfast privileges." Kimihito whispered as he heard Miia slither by, calling out for him.

"Don't be like that. At least I let you know now? So, what's going on with them?"

"Besides the fact that they tried to gang rape me?"

"…Yeah, maybe not the best idea to let them know about the marriage on the night of the full moon." Smith said is such a way that Kimihito could swear he could see the sheepish expression on her face. "But then again, this is kind of your fault."

Kimihito's eye twitched. "How exactly is this my fault?"

"Your indecisiveness is what's fueling their actions. They want to claim you, and they are willing to do anything to make it happen. Had you made your choice, or even talked to them about it, then they may have had a bit more control."

"…" Kimihito didn't know how to respond to that. It was true that he ran away into his room without so much as a word to the three girls, but what was he supposed to say? Marriage was a big choice. He couldn't just make a choice like that so suddenly.

"What am I going to do?"

"…I have faith you will think of something darling. Hope to see you in the morning…Or crap, I just dropped my phone in the bath." Smith said.

"Wait! Hold on-" Click

Kimihito stared at the phone, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"What happened?" Roxas asked quietly.

Giving a sigh, Kimihito turned off the phone and tucked it away in his pocket. No reason for the ring to give away his position again. "Turns out Smith forgot to tell me that Liminal get…antsy during the full moon." He said as he glanced at Roxas curiously. "How do you feel?"

Roxas blinded a few times before shrugging. "Exactly the same."

"Well that's a relief." Kimihito replied before he noticed Roxas's shirt was ripped and he had a decent scratch on his shoulder. "You're hurt."

Roxas blinked a few times as he glanced at his shoulder. The scratch wasn't that bad, barely deep enough to draw blood. "It's not bad."

"Damn. I'm sorry Roxas. I feel like a failure as a host." Kimihito said as he scratched the back of his head."

"It's fine." Roxas said as he rolled his shoulder. "It doesn't really hurt."

"That's not really the point. I should have said something to them before this got out of hand."

"…But you didn't know."

Kimihito chuckled at Roxas's straightforward answers. "True, but I'm still sorry you got hurt."

"I said it's fine." Roxas responded, getting a little annoyed that Kimihito wouldn't drop it. It wasn't that big of a deal. Why were people so worried about insignificant wounds like this?

Kimihito got the hint though before he scratched his chin in thought. He tried to brainstorm a way to get through this. "Now, what should we do?"

"You could leave the house?" Roxas suggested.

"Nah, that won't work. Besides, if they saw me leave, they would try and follow. If they get caught wondering around alone, then they could be deported out of the country." Kimihito responded

"Hmm…What about my room? Do you think they will look there?"

Kimihito glanced over at Roxas, a pondering look on his face. "That…Might work. They will probably still try and look there, but you could say you haven't seen me."

"…Ok."

"Now all we have to do is figure out a way to safely get there." Kimihito said as he listened to the sounds from the other side of the door. Suddenly, a thought struck him. He glanced over at Roxas with a smile of his face. "Ok, here's the plan."

* * *

Miia felt like she was going insane. After the news of the change in the exchange bill, she wanted desperately for her darling to choose her over the other Liminal girls in his care. She hoped she would have been able to sneak into his room and seduce him with the sexy lingerie she bought earlier, but she completely forgot there was another boy that lived with them now. It was so embarrassing for her that he saw her dressed like that. She blamed the full moon.

The full moon was also a reason she was so desperate to claim Darling by any means necessary, even if she had to break his bones so he wouldn't be able to resist. She had to find him before the other girls could.

Rounding a corner back into the living Room, she glanced over to see Roxas about the enter the kitchen area. She remembered that Roxas was the last one to see her Darling, so she immediately rushed over and pounced.

Roxas felt something constrict around his body as Miia's tail wrapped around his lower half. She was glaring into his eyes as she clenched his shoulders with her hands.

"WHERE IS DARLING!" she shouted. Unfortunately for her, the other tenants heard her absurdly loud screech and came charging. Soon, Roxas was surrounded by 3 very eager and horny Liminal.

"Yes, where is my master! I must protect him from these two brutes!" Centorea claimed, but you could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted to do a lot more than just protect Kimihito.

"I need Hubby to fertilize my eggs!" Papi exclaimed, flapping her wings hysterically.

All three Liminal were staring at Roxas, trying to burn a hole through his head with their penetrating gaze. Miia unconsciously constricted her tail around his torso, enough that it would have snapped anyone else in half. It was beginning to hurt quite a bit actually. But Roxas simply stared back, only showing a bit of discomfort on his face, but nothing else. He wasn't scared of them, nor did he show he was the least bit intimidated by their glares.

"I saw him in the downstairs bathroom."

There was only a brief pause before all Liminal in the room suddenly made a hysterical dash for the bathroom. Roxas was thrown from Miia's grasp and over the couch. His back slammed onto the ground with a thud as he listened to the sound of three Liminal girls calling after Kimihito and racing down the hallway. He could hear them crashing into each other and most likely putting holes in the walls and floor.

"…I can see why Kimihito was scared." Roxas said as he pushed himself up off the ground. He winced a little as he felt a slight pain in his torso. Carefully, he pulled up his shirt to see red marks on his chest and stomach. It seemed like Miia couldn't quite control her strength during the full moon. No doubt there would be bruising later.

He shook his head as he left the living room before making his way up the stairs while the sound of the girls trying to get through the door to the bathroom echoed through the house. He soon found the door to his room and pushed it open. Though when he walked in, he noticed it was completely empty. All according to plan so far.

"HE'S NOT HERE!" a shout rang through the house which was followed by the sound of galloping to the living room.

"…Wow." Roxas muttered as he looked to his closet. Slowly, he walked over and pulled it open.

Now, if Roxas had the ability to feel emotions, he would have laughed at the look on Kimihito's face. Kimihito was stowed away in the closet, his face deathly pale as he stared into Roxas's eyes.

"…Please close the closet. You Never saw me." He whispered as he pulled an extra blanket over his head. **(A.N Think of how Rukia would sleep in Ichigo's closet.)**

Roxas nodded as he closed the door, Leaving the poor man to cower in fear in his closet. Good thing there were a few extra blankets in there because it didn't seem like Kimihito was going to be leaving his closet tonight. And he really couldn't blame the man, considering the commotion that was going on downstairs. It was lucky that Kimihito managed to sneak past the girls while they were distracted. Roxas's couldn't imagine what would happen if they found him.

Not sure what else he should do, Roxas changed out of his cloths and started to slip into his new pair of pajamas. He glanced over at the cut on his shoulder. It had bled only slightly, but not enough for him to worry about it. Now changed, Roxas turned off the light and hopped into bed. So much had happened that day that he really needed to let his mind rest. There were too many questions, too many thoughts.

To many emotions.

He wanted to learn more about them. He wanted to understand why people acted the way they did. But for now, he just wanted to sleep.

* * *

 _"_ _Garsh, is this what's all that's left of the worlds taken by the heartless?"_

 _"_ _Those worlds will be restored if we beat Ansem, right?"_

 _"_ _You betcha!"_

 _"_ _But, if we do beat him and all these worlds become restored and disconnected, what's going to happen to this place…and to us!"_

 _"_ _Well…ummm"_

 _"_ _This is a heartless world, so maybe it'll just disappear. But no worries, even if this place goes poof, our hearts aint goin' nowhere._

 _"_ _Give me a break Kari"_

 _"_ _Sora, your lazy bum! I knew I would find you snoozing around here."_

 _"_ _What, who's there!"_

 _"_ _I've come to see the door to this world."_

 _"_ _Huh?"_

 _"_ _This world has been connected…"_

 _"_ _W-What are you talking about?"_

 _"_ _Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipse…"_

 _"_ _Well whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this! Huh? W-Where did you come from?_

 _"_ _You do not yet know what lies beyond the door…"_

 _"_ _So, you're from another world!"_

 _"_ _There is so very much to learn…You understand so little."_

 _"_ _Oh Yeah! We'll you'll see! I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"_

 _"_ _A meaningless effort…one who knows nothing can understand nothing…"_

* * *

Roxas's eyes shot wide open as the very jumbled dream came to an end. He was taking deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down. Whatever that dream was, it was by far the most vivid dream he had ever experienced since his creation.

But…

What was that dream? Who was that kid…Sora? The dream was a bit blurry, but he could hear everything just find. Frowning slightly, Roxas tried to think of any possible explanation for the dream. Nobodies were not supposed to dream…well, that's what he thought. And the sequence of the dream was extremely scattered. It kept jumping between different moments. And the fact that the dream mentioned the heartless was something that made Roxas frown a little.

"Could it be…" Roxas pondered as he thought about the dream again. Despite just waking up, it was still fresh in his mind. However, he shook his head as pushed himself out of the bed. "Nah, it was probably just a dream."

Standing from his bed, Roxas stretched his arms towards the celling before glancing over at the closet. He walked over before pulling it open. Since there was no one there, turns out Kimihito had left sometimes during the night. Hopefully that meant the girls were calmer now.

Shrugging, Roxas went over to his other dresser and pulled out some cloths so he could get dressed for the day.

It didn't take long before Roxas found himself walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. He had yet to see anyone, but a few noises from the front room caught his attention. Walking into the living room, he saw that Kimihito was standing there, his hands on his hips with a determined look in his eyes. In front of him were Centorea, Miia, and Papi all sitting on the couch in front of him.

"So, I have decided to date each of you as potential marriage candidates. That is all." He said before he noticed Roxas in the room. A small smile creeped along his face as he excused himself.

"Darling, where are you going."

Kimihito shot them all a deadpanned look. "I didn't get a good night sleep. I need a small power nap before I do anything today. Oh, and by the way, you three are going to be early during the next full moon." He said as he walked away from them and up to Roxas.

"Good morning."

"…Morning." Roxas responded.

"Thanks for hiding me yesterday. Thankfully the spell broke around 3 in the morning. I noticed that the commotion died down, so I went to check on them." Kimihito said as he chuckled a bit. "They were knocked out cold by that time."

"…Good to know." Roxas said, keeping a mental note for the future.

"By the way Roxas, did you…have any dreams last night?"

Roxas turned his gaze over to Kimihito curiously "…Why?"

"You were talking a lot in your sleep. Sometimes, Amnesia patients recover memories through dreams. I was wondering if you might have remembered something."

Roxas pondered for a bit, considering Kimihito's words before he shrugged. "I don't know. It could be."

"Well, why don't you write it down. Keep a journal and maybe something might eventually seem familiar to you."

Roxas nodded, giving Kimihito a very small smile. "That is a good idea, thanks." He said.

"Anytime. But for now, I'm gonna crash. Mind watching the girls for a few hours?"

"…Sure."

"Thanks, I apricate it." The exhausted man said as he exited the room and began to walk upstairs.

"Roxas, what was he talking about?" Miia enquired, looking up at him from her spot on the couch.

"He just told me he was tired." Roxas responded as he glanced over at the three girls. They were staring up at him with a completely different look from last night. It was easy to tell that they were back to normal.

"Not about that. About you! Did he say Amnesia?"

Roxas nodded. "We guessed that because I can't remember anything past 9 days ago, he thought it was the effects of amnesia." Roxas said, going with the lie for now.

"oh…OH!" Miia said, her eyes widening a bit.

"You failed to mention that you didn't remember anything past 9 days ago," Centorea said, a small frown marring her brow.

"…It never came up." Roxas responded simply.

"Hey, what's going on? Why is manias?" Papi inquired curiously.

"It's called Amnesia," Centorea corrected. "It means his memories are gone."

"Oh, like how Papi sometimes forgets stuff." Papi said cheerfully as she scratched the back of her head with her wing.

"It's a little more serious than simply forgetting something Papi." Centorea responded as she glanced over at Roxas, who was sitting down next to Miia.

Instantly, Miia threw her arms around his neck. "You poor thing! Don't worry, big sis Miia will help you in any way she can."

"…Thanks?" Roxas said. He didn't think this condition would warrant pity.

"Well that does explain a few things about your…particular actions. I do have a question though." Centorea started, getting Roxas's attention. "Master also thanked you for hiding him. Is that true?"

Roxas nodded.

"Then you lied to us." Centorea said again, her eyes narrowing.

"…Yes." Roxas said, not caring in the slightest.

Miia blinked a few times as she also pulled away and stared at the nobody. "Why did you hide him? I needed to talk to him about something important."

"…Because you would have hurt him." Roxas said simply, causing the tenants to widen their eyes in anger.

"Preposterous. I would never do anything to hurt master!" Centorea said, obviously insulted by his claim.

"Me Too! I love Darling. I could never hurt him."

"Papi just wanted to have sex with Hubby! Papi wouldn't hurt him."

Roxas stared at the three girls, not really caring that they were now glaring at him. Slowly, he stood up and raised his shirt.

Miia gasped slightly as she saw what Roxas was trying to show off. There was bruising on his torso in the pattern of a snake. They wrapped around his body, obviously from when she coiled around him last night.

"I'm a lot more durable than Kimihito." Roxas said as he lowered his shirt. "If you had caught him yesterday, then you would have broken him."

Miia looked down in shame. It wasn't her intention to hurt anyone. She just wanted to claim her darling as hers. She didn't realize how much she lost control, but the bruising on his chest was proof enough.

Turning to Papi, Roxas lowered his shirt collar to show off another bruise and scratch on his shoulder from papi's talons. "When you tacked me yesterday, you could have really hurt Kimihito had it been him." He finished as he released the shirt. Even though Papi was mostly an airhead, something clicked in her mind that caused her to tear up a little.

Finally, he looked over at Centorea. "Your lower body is powerful. One accidental kick and you would have really hurt him."

"That would never happen!" Centorea said. "I have more control over my body than that."

"Did you yesterday?" Roxas asked as he glanced around the room. It was covered in hove marks and even the sheetrock was damaged from a few accidental kicks.

"I-um…" Centorea said as she went quiet. All three girls realized what they could have done yesterday had Roxas not hid Kimihito. It was a very depressed atmosphere, one that Roxas was not really likening. He didn't mean to hurt their feelings, he was just telling it how it was.

"Anyway, I'm just informing you why I chose to lie." Roxas said simply as he stood from the couch "I'm going to take a bath." He said as he walked out of the room. He wanted to get ready for the day and get something to eat. Speaking of which, since Kimihito would be out for a little while, it seemed that he would need to learn how to cook.

As he left the living room, the three girls were deep in through about their actions the previous night. It was true what Roxas had said, but that just made them feel worse about their actions.

* * *

Roxas was relaxing in the bath, looking up at the celling with his head rested again the side. For some reason, he really didn't like the looks on the girls faces when he told them his thoughts on yesterday. They seemed hurt, not by his explanation, but by their own actions.

Roxas gave a sigh as he slipped further into the large bath. He wanted to relax after all that had happened last night. And if he felt this way, he couldn't imagine what Kimihito was feeling. Even though he never got an answer of what marriage was, he could tell that it was weighing on the man's shoulders. Not only that, but having to deal with those girls as they tried to…do something to him. What were they going to do once they caught him?

Roxas scrunched his eyebrows as he thought about that. He didn't know why they were chasing Kimihito, but what were they going to do to him? Miia said something about claiming him as hers, but what was that supposed to mean?

 _SLUURRRPPP_

Roxas cocked his eyebrow as a sudden sound caught his attention. He glanced over to the side of the tub to see some of the water begin sucked out like a straw. Except, the straw was very light blue and mostly clear. It was almost like a tentacle of some kind that was slowly sucking the water over the edge of the tub.

"huh." Roxas hummed as he slowly slid over the strange clear feeler. Once he was close enough, he raised his finger and gave it a sharp poke. Instantly, his finger sank a few millimeters before bouncing back. "What is this thing?"

The tentacle jerked as it withdrew from the water. Roxas's eyes followed the strange appendage as it withdrew into the corner of the room before disappearing into a large bucket that was used by him and Kimihito to clean the bathtub.

Again, Roxas cocked his eyebrow as he stood from the bath, clearly perplexed by this strange thing. He walked over to the bucket before peering inside. Right when he looked in, he noticed that the water in the bucket was a light shade of blue, same as the tentacle. It was one large mass in the bucket.

Slowly reaching in, Roxas poked the surface of the water, only for his finger to bounce back. Instantly, two glowing eyes formed in the bucket, along with another larger glowing tentacle. It seemed to form out of the bucket and look him straight in the eye. If it had been anyone else, they would have probably freaked out. But not Roxas. He simply looked on curiously.

"…Weird." Roxas murmured as he poked the tip of the large tentacle. It withdrew slightly before reaching out and tapping his finger. Soon, a shapeless blob formed inside the bucket. It's glowing eyes looking straight at him as its main tentacle waved from side to side. It then slowly moved forward before poking his arm this time.

"Hmmm." Roxas hummed, trying to figure out what this thing was supposed to be. He had never seen anything quite like it before. But then again, he had been seeing strange things on this world since he got here. What was one more thing to add to the list.

He noticed the tentacle rub down his arm, completely absorbing any water that was left on his skin. It then proceeded to the other arm, doing the same thing. Roxas frowned at these actions before he remembered what the thing was doing when he first saw it.

"…Do you…need water?" He asked.

The shapeless blob didn't respond, rather it continued to absorbed the water around his skin. That was enough of an answer for the nobody, so he slowly reached over and grabbed the side of the bucket before picking it up.

The blob's tentacle shock back into the bucket as the eyes peered up at him curiously. Roxas walked back to the bath before he placed the bucket down next to the side. He then proceeded to step back into the tub because he wasn't quite done with his bath.

Like he assumed it would, the large tentacle emerged from the bucket and slipped over the edge of the tub. It began to suck the water out of the bath again, steadily growing before filling every space in the bucket. Roxas watched curiously, wondering what this thing was supposed to be again. He would have to ask Kimihito about it. Maybe he would know.

After a few moments, the creature's tentacle retreated back into the bucket, however it was quite a bit larger than before. It was almost spilling out of the sides of the 10-gallon bucket. Its glowing eyes watching Roxas's every move as he relaxed in the bath. The larger feeler reached out and rested on his arm.

Roxas glanced over at the strange creature as it stared right back at him. Its liquidly tentacle was cool to the touch, but didn't dissolve straight away like regular water. It was more of a gelatinous feel to it. It started to curl around his arm gently before just hanging there. Again, Roxas didn't quite know what to make of this creature. So far it was calm. It didn't show any signs of aggression, so he just let it do as it pleased. However, it just seemed content just hanging onto his arm with its tentacle.

The minutes passed on in comfortable silence before Roxas felt like he had been in there long enough. He glanced over at the gelatinous thing in the bucket only to notice its glowing eyes were drooping slightly, almost giving it the expression of being drowsy. Standing from the tub, he noticed that the creature's tentacle wrapped tighter around his arm, not painfully, but its eyes jerked open, staring at him. Almost giving a look like it was panicked or something.

Slowly, he reached over and grasped the end of the appendage before slowly unwrapping it from around his arm. It did little to resist and soon he was free. He watched in fascination as the feeler sunk into the main body of the bucket, however the eyes were still on him. He stepped out of the tub before walking over to where his towel was laying. He was about to walk past the bucket before two tentacles shot out, one wrapping around his waist and the other around his neck. Then, the whole blob seemed to launch itself out of the bucket, spreading out and completely covering his torso in the gelatinous slime.

It was the strangest feeling Roxas had felt. It was cool to the touch, but it was slowly constricting around his torso, not as intense as Miia would though. Roxas was surprised, but only peered down at it curiously. Again, it wasn't hurting him, but he couldn't get it off. Even trying to push the thing off his body, his hands slipped through, which really made him wonder how it was still attached to him.

However, from his chest, the slime protruded out a bit and began to take form. It gathered together before it suddenly formed a shape. A really distinct shape.

"A head?" Roxas asked as he found himself staring into the newly formed emerald eyes of this creature. The head was in the detailed shape of a young girl. The slime-like hair was a light shade of green while the top supported the large tentacle, which waved back and forth as the girl smiled up at him.

"Um…" Roxas blinked, not quite sure what he was supposed to do in this situation. His arms were locked to his side because he tried to push the thing off. "…Can you let go?"

"…Suu….C-Can yo-You." The slime murmured, a large smile on its face as it tried to mimic Roxas's voice.

"Suu?"

"Suu" The slime said back, the large tentacle creeping up the side of his face before resting on his forehead.

"…Ooook?" Roxas said, wondering if this thing knew how to talk, but so far it didn't seem like it. "Can you let me go?"

"Suu?" The slime said before its face courted in concentration. "C-an yo-you let me…" It started before giving up halfway.

Roxas nodded. "Can you let me go?"

Cocking its head, its vision dropped slightly. Its face was disfigured, as if it was looking sad or something. Slowly, the slime began to slide off his body before creeping along the floor of the bathroom and making its way back to the bucket. "Suu"

Roxas cocked his head as he looked down at the bucket, watching the head melt into the rest of the shapeless mass. He was really intrigued by this creature. It didn't seem to be intelligent enough to talk, but it was trying. Or at least that's what he thought.

Reaching down, he picked up his towel and wrapped it around his waist. He was about to walk out of the bathroom again, but another tentacle shot out of the bucket and wrapped around his leg. Glancing back at the thing, Roxas noticed that the head was formed again, but was only peeking over the edge of the bucket, its eyes looking so sad. The main head feeler was wrapped around his ankle, preventing him from leaving.

Frowning slightly, Roxas walked over to the bucket and carefully picked it up. "…Do you want to come with me?"

"Suu…" the slime murmured quietly as it smiled up at him.

* * *

It was later that Roxas was fully dressed and walking down the stairs to the kitchen. It took a few moments because the strange thing wouldn't let him out of its sight. It kept latching onto him when he tried to leave. Eventually he managed to escape though, leaving the 10-gallon bucket in his room along with the creature.

Upon entering the kitchen, he noticed Miia by the stove stirring a concoction of…Something black and tar-like.

"…What are you doing?"

Miia jumped a little before she turned to see Roxas. She had a ladle in her hand. "I-I wanted to make something for darling…You know, to help him get his strength back."

Walking up behind her, Roxas glanced into the pot only for his face to completely blanch. Whatever was in there was a hissing violently. It was bubbling, giving off a burst of purple gas with each pop. Whatever this was, it seemed like Kimihito was going to die if he ate it. Even glancing at the ladle in her hand, it was melting just from touching the food Miia was cooking.

"…W-What is that supposed to be?"

"I don't know." Miia said as she returned to stirring, a bright smile on her face. "But I know he will love it because I made it with love."

"…"

"Now, all I need to do is let it cool off, and it will be ready to serve. Would you like to try some Roxas?" Miia asked, a huge and hopeful smile on her face.

"No." Roxas said simply as he walked over to the fringe, completely ignoring Miia's crushed expression.

"Fine! Be that way. I bet Darling with love it." She huffed as she closed the lid and placed the entire pot in the fridge before sulking off to the living room.

No, Roxas knew for a fact that this would probably kill Kimihito. Miia may be mad at him later, but he needed to do something about it before Kimihito ate any of it. Knowing that man, he would probably be to kind to say no. Even looking at the pot, the goo inside was already melting the metal sides.

Quickly, Roxas picked up the pot and dashed out of the kitchen. He needed to figure out how to dispose of it before Miia found out.

Upon entering his room again, Roxas saw the bucket with the creature contained within it. The main tentacle was waving back and forth absently as the eyes shot over to him. They seemed to widen with excitement as Roxas set the pot down next to the bucket.

"Hmm…" Roxas hummed as he crossed his arms. "What do I do with this now?"

Before his brain could even begin to process and answer to his own question, a tentacle of slime shot out of the bucket and into the pot of goo. The substance was sucked out slowly as the creature within the bucket began to turn a darker shade of blue.

Roxas watched in pure fascination. It didn't take long before the slime had eaten the entire pot of Miia's death cooking.

"Wow." Roxas murmured as he watched the tentacle scrape the pot clean of any substance left. By now, the creature was no longer able to fit into the bucket as it began to spill out onto the floor. Roxas watched curiously as the black tar-like food Miia had tried to prepare was dissolving within the slimes body.

"…That was convenient." Roxas said as he inspected the pot. There was not a bit of food left thankfully. All he needed to worry about was explaining what happened to Miia's cooking.

Suddenly, the slime began to grow again and completely spill out of the bucket. Roxas watched as the gelatinous mass began to gather together to take another form. It only took a few seconds before a liquid-like humanoid was standing in the place where the slime was.

It was in the shape of a young girl. Her slimy hair was much greener than the rest of her body, which was a light blue. She was also nearly transparent, so much so that Roxas could see his desk through her. It was a very fascinating sight because he had never seen anything like it before.

A smile crossed the slime girls face as she attempted to walk over to Roxas. Her steps were a bit wobbly, but it was still amazing that her body kept its shape even though it appeared to be liquid. It reached out a hand before it poked Roxas's arm lightly.

"Suu."

Roxas raised an eyebrow as he stared into her emerald eyes. He reached up and poked her shoulder, causing a small ripple to cascade across its body. It was so perplexing to see. How in the world did it manage to keep its shape?

The slime actually giggled slightly as it poked Roxas again, leaving a tiny trail of slime from where she touched.

"…What?" Roxas asked curiously, wondering to what extent this creature could communicate.

"…W-Why-What?" The slime struggled to say as its face courted in concentration.

"can you talk?" Roxas asked.

"Suu." It said back, its face confused again. It seemed that this creature didn't quite know how to talk. But it was trying.

"Hmmm." Roxas hummed as he pointed to himself. "My name is Roxas."

The slime cocked her head in confusion as she stared at him.

"Roxas" Roxas said again as he pointed to himself.

"R-R-Roux-Roxas." The slime mimicked.

Roxas gave a tiny smile as he nodded. He pointed to himself again. "Roxas."

"Roux-Roxas." The slime said, this time much easier. It gave a wider smile. "Roxas."

"Right." Roxas said as he then pointed to the slime. "And you?"

"Suu." The slime said, its face courted in confusion again.

"Do you have a name?"

"Suu?" Again, confusion showed on its face as the feeler on her head formed into a question mark.

"So, you don't have a name." Roxas confirmed. In a very odd way, this creature kind of reminded him of himself. He barely knew how to talk when he was found by the organization. He didn't have a name either. He just simply existed. Was this creature the same way? Did it not have a name?

"Suu." Roxas said, pointing to the slime. "Your name is going to be Suu."

"Suu?" The slime mimicked curiously.

Roxas nodded as he pointed to himself. "Roxas." He said before he pointed to the slime. "Suu."

"Suu…" The slime said, pointing to herself before she pointed to Roxas. "Roxas."

Roxas gave another tiny smile as he nodded. Suddenly, a huge smile crossed the creatures face. "Suu!" she said as she pointed to herself again before pointing to Roxas. "Roxas."

"Right." Roxas said.

The slime was getting really excited now as it kept saying the same thing repeatedly. "Suu! Roxas! Suu! Roxas!"

Seeing the happiness on the slimes face caused Roxas to smile slightly, but then he frowned. It was a bit envious of the slime because even though she was like him at first, it seemed even something like this contained what he lacked.

Emotion.

He could see it on her face. She was clearly excited, weather it was because she had a name, or that she had managed to communicate. He couldn't help but feel a little envious of this thing as she kept chanting his and her name repeatedly.

"Hello! Anyone home?"

Roxas blinked as he heard a voice from downstairs. It was a familiar sounding female voice.

"Huh…Smith is here?" Roxas asked curiously as he glanced at the clock near his bed. It was around lunch time, so it would seem that Smith was here to mooch again. Although she would be disappointed because Kimihito was sleeping now. But since she was here, he could ask her about Suu and what she was supposed to be. Surly she would know.

Turning to the bouncing slime, Roxas couldn't help but let a tiny smile cross his face at how excited she was becoming.

"Suu." Roxas said, getting the slime girls attention. She stopped bouncing as she looked up at him, a smile splitting her face. "Follow me."

"…F-Full-Follow?"

Roxas nodded as he turned to the door and opened it. He then turned back to the confused slime before he beckoned her. She was still a bit confused by the look on her face, so Roxas walked back to her and lightly grabbed her arm. His fingers sunk in slightly, but the liquid was firm enough for him to grab.

"Follow." He said as he tugged slightly.

"F-Follow." Suu mimicked as she felt the slight tug on her arm. Roxas then let her go as he walked back to the door.

"Follow me." Roxas said again.

The gears seemed to click in her mind before her eyes widened. He took a few steps forward, as if to test the waters. "Follow."

"Right." Roxas said as he nodded, taking a step out the door. "Follow.

"Follow." Suu mimicked as she walked out the door behind him, leaving damp footprints in her wake.

Roxas nodded again, the tiny smile returning. He couldn't help but wonder if this was how the rest of the organization felt when they first found him. They had to teach him basically everything, but luckily, he at least knew how to speak. Though this girl didn't really understand words, she was picking up there meaning at a fast pace.

A smile split her face again as she walked up to Roxas. "Follow."

"Right." Roxas said as he turned away from her and started to walk towards the stairs.

"Darling! I'm starving." Smith's voice said from the kitchen.

"Master is getting rest right now. Please don't bother him." Centorea's voice chided.

"Awe! I was banking on a good meal before I got back to paperwork…That and I wanted to see if darling survived the night."

Roxas barely entered the kitchen to see a slightly downcast look on Centorea's face. She and smith were the only ones in the kitchen. By the sound of video games playing in the next Room, Roxas could guess that was where Miia and Papi where.

"Oh, honey!" Smith said as she notices Roxas walk into the room. "Glad to see you surf…Survived…What is that?"

Roxas blinked a few times as he noticed Smith pointing a confused finger right behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Suu standing there, a curious look on her face.

"…This is- "

"A SLIME!" Centorea exclaimed as she noticed the slime creature standing behind Roxas. She immediately drew her sword in defense. "Roxas watch out! Slimes are dangerous!"

"…Huh?" Roxas said as he watched Centorea brandish her sword at the slime. "What are you talking about?"

"Roxas move! I will slay the slime." Centorea said as she raised her weapon.

Roxas frowned slightly as he saw the hostile looks Smith and Centorea were giving Suu. Why were they acting like this? Suu hadn't done anything to hurt them or him.

"Why?"

Centorea blinked a few times. "What do you mean! Get away from it, they're dangerous!"

Roxas felt Suu grab his sleeve, causing him to look over his shoulder at her. She had a confused expression on her face again as she looked between Roxas and Centorea.

"…Why is she dangerous?"

"Roxas…Those are rare and undocumented creatures. We don't know enough about them to conclude that they aren't dangerous." Smith said, wondering what she could do about this situation. She couldn't use tranquilizer darts because slimes were nearly intangible. How did you fight a slime?

Again, Roxas frowned at their words. He didn't see a problem with this creature. It didn't attack him, and never showed signs of being hostile. "Suu hasn't done anything to hurt me."

"S-Suu?" Centorea asked back.

Roxas nodded as he thumbed to the slime behind him. She was just watching the exchange with curiosity while gripping the back of his sleeve.

"The slime?" Centorea asked. "You named it?"

"…She didn't have a name. So, I gave her one. She doesn't really know how to talk either, but she's learning." Roxas said, still frowning.

"…Ok…Roxas where did you find it? Slimes are very rarely seen."

"In the bathroom about an hour ago, she was drinking the bath water." Roxas said simply. "So, she's called a slime?"

Smith nodded as she eyed the smiling face of Suu. She looked so innocent, almost like a young child. "Yes. Slimes are not a part of the exchange bill because they didn't show for the signing. We don't know much about them."

"huh." Roxas hummed. "I was hoping you could tell me something about her."

"Unfortunately not. Like I said, slimes are a rarity."

"Smith, I think you are forgetting the fact that they can be dangerous." Centorea insisted. She didn't really like the thought of any potentially dangerous creatures in the house. They could hurt her master.

"Hmmm…" Smith hummed as she gazed at Suu's particular color scheme. "The only record of dangerous slimes are black slimes. Besides, just look at her face. I don't think she could hurt a fly."

"…That's so irresponsible." Centorea said, glancing at the slime with an uneasy look on her face. "I still don't like that there is something here that could hurt master."

"To late for that." Smith said as she glanced over at the Center with a grin. "His life was in danger the moment he took her girls in."

Centorea's eye twitched, but thinking back on all the times her master had been hurt since their arrival, she couldn't really refute.

Smith grinned at her victory as she looked over at Roxas. "So, you said her name was Suu?"

Roxas nodded.

"Suu." The slimed cooed as she heard her name. It caused a large smile to cover her face again.

"Well, this is an interesting turn of event." Smith said, though she knew that was an understatement. Why couldn't life be simple? All she wanted was have a nice lunch with everyone, but instead she found out that Roxas had discovered a rare slime in his bathroom. "What do you plan to do with her?"

Roxas glanced over at Smith. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we have to do something about her" Smith said as she scratched her chin. She then noticed one of Suu's arms reach up and curl around Roxas's arm, a large smile crossing her face. "Hmm…Alright, it's decided."

Roxas and Centorea looked over at the coordinator curiously. "You know what to do with the slime?"

"Of course, To save me paperwork…I mean, because the slime has taken a liking to Roxas, I have decided to leave it here. Besides, a slime doesn't fall under my jurisdiction." Smith said proudly.

"WHAT!?" Centorea yelped, pointing a finger at the slime. "That's it? How irresponsible are you being?"

"It's not irresponsible. Honey said that Suu doesn't know how to speak. Based on that, you can think of her as a newborn who needs to learn. Since Roxas is starting school soon, what better way for a slime to learn? Roxas could teach her everything he learned at school. Problem solved."

"But what if it's dangerous!"

"Suu isn't dangerous." Roxas said as he frowned. "She hasn't done anything to hurt me."

"Not yet at least." Centorea muttered as she turned to Roxas, her eyes narrowing.

"Aw, lighten up Centorea. I'm sure she will behave. Besides, if I took her with me, that will just add a mountain of paperwork to my workload."

Centorea growled before she gave a sigh. "You know what, I give up. But if she does anything to hurt anyone here, I will not stay my sword." Centorea said as she crossed her arms under her bosom.

"Great! Now that everything is settled…" She started as she turned to Roxas. "Are you ready to start school tomorrow?"

"…I start tomorrow?" Roxas asked.

Smith nodded. "They will be expecting you. I will text you the address of the school later. I assume you got a phone, right?"

Roxas nodded, remembering that Kimihito had picked him up one when they went out shopping the other day.

"Alright, just text me sometime before you go to bed so I can get your number. And done worry about the uniform. They said they will hook you up after your first day. I hope everything goes well." Smith said with a smile.

"…I do too." Roxas responded simply.

Giving a sigh, smith's countenance slumped. "But in the meantime, I think I will just pick something up on the way back to the office. Tell darling I miss his cooking."

"Be gone already." Centorea responded.

When smith exited the house, she left Roxas, Centorea, and Suu alone in the kitchen. Centorea was still extremely uneasy around the slime, but again, the cheerful smile on its face served to melt the animosity a bit.

It was a little later in the day that the other two girls met Suu. Papi was instantly excited about the new friend because it seemed that Suu was very quick at picking up video games. Miia was a little more vocally against it, saying that it was just another rival for her Darlings attention.

Speaking of which, it was a couple hours before Kimihito walked down the stairs. He looked much better and well rested after his power nap. When he noticed Suu, he was very surprised. He asked a few questions, but overall, he was more than happy to let the slime stay here if she didn't cause trouble. When Roxas told him about the little interaction with Smith, he just rolled his eyes and laughed it off, saying that it was just like her to avoided responsibility.

The fact that Suu was made of slime made her kind of messy. She left slimy footprints with every step she took and accidently absorbed almost everything she touched. So Kimihito had the brilliant idea of giving her a rain jacket along with a pair of boots. The slime looked happy about the arrangement as she danced around in her new outfit. Overall, everyone seemed to accept Suu as part of the family.

It was finally the end of another long and eventful day. Roxas lay on his back, listening to the soft sounds of the Papi and Miia playing video games downstairs. It seemed that some of the girls were not ready to go to bed yet. Though he didn't mind it that much because the background noise was comforting to listen to as he tried to drift to sleep.

He was just about to before his door opened. Light from the hallway spilled into the room, causing Roxas to glance over. He noticed Suu standing there in her rain gear before she pulled in an inflatable kiddy pool into his room. He remembered Kimihito giving it to her, not knowing if she could sleep or not, but if she did there wouldn't be a mess for him to clean up.

"Hey Suu." Roxas said tiredly.

"h-He-Hey" She said back as she plopped the pool next to his bed before crawling into it. Her glowing green eyes were staring straight at him with a small smile on her face.

"I am going to sleep."

"slee-Sleep?" Suu asked.

Roxas closed his eyes and he nodded. A couple seconds later he felt something cool encompass his hand. Glancing down, he noticed that Suu was lying on her side, but one of her larger feelers was wrapped around his hand. It didn't bother him much, but it was a curious gesture. Why was she hanging onto him like that?

Shrugging it off, he let her do as she pleased. There were to many things about this world that didn't make any sense. What was one more thing?

* * *

 **Authors Note: First day of school tomorrow. Hope you all are looking forward to it because I am. I introduced Suu a little earlier than when the Manga revealed her. Again, sorry there was no school in this chapter, but this chapter was where I felt like I needed to introduce Suu into the story. I hope you guys liked it. I found it funny that Suu and Roxas are a bit similar when it comes to what they know. A small tradeoff being that Roxas knew how to talk when he was first created while Suu can't. But Suu has emotions, something that Roxas lacks.**

 **If you haven't noticed, there are a few elements of another story in this one. That story is called "Daily life of a supporting character." It's one of the better DLWMG fanfictions and I would highly recommend reading it.**

 **So, what did you think?**

 **Please leave a review and your thoughts on the story. Thanks**

 **Until then!**


	5. Chapter 5: Day 11

**Authors note: Whelp, here we are, ready for Roxas to finally start school. I have been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while. It's going to be interesting to see how Roxas will interact with other students, what kind of friends he will make, and what kind of drama will happen. I hope you all enjoy this because I know I will. And if you do enjoy, please let me know in a review. I really appreciate it. Thanks!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Warning: Spelling…blah…blah…blah…you know the drill by now.**

* * *

Blank slate

Day 11

Usually when kids attend a new school for the first time, they come down with a serious case of the butterflies. They worry about how they will make friends, what the campus culture is like, and even if they will be able to fit in with the other students. Either way, there is always a sense of nervousness when someone has a fresh start at a new school.

Roxas was not one of these people. After receiving the text of where the school was and when it would start, he simply shrugged it off and went to sleep. He knew the basics of what school was supposed to be because Kimihito had given him a brief explanation last night, but he still had some questions. One of the main things that Kimihito had mentioned was the fact that most of his questions would be answered by just experiencing what school was like. So, that's what he was going to do.

Kimihito was like a doting mother though, which was nice albeit a little annoying. But he did go through the trouble of fixing a bento for Roxas's, something the Nobody was extremely grateful for. But the constant nagging was getting a bit on his nerves. Questions like "Do you have your books? Do you have your lunch? Do you have your phone? Ext Ext…" But then again, it just went to show how much the man cared.

The real challenge was trying to make Suu understand that she couldn't follow him to school. Roxas was forced to teach her a new word. "Stay." It took a while for her to understand because every time he tried to walk out the door, she latched onto him with a frightened expression on her face. Eventually Kimihito came to the rescue again, gently talking to the slime and reassuring her that Roxas would be back soon. Even though she didn't know that many words yet, she seemed understand.

Though the look on her face was one of the saddest things Roxas had ever seen in his life. It nearly made him change his mind about going to school. But ultimately, Suu had to learn that Roxas wouldn't be able to stay by her side every second of the day. But just the look in her eyes as she held Kimihito's hand and waved goodbye while he walked out the door was heartbreaking.

But he didn't have a heart, so it was ok.

Currently, Roxas was standing in front of the outer gates of a large building. It was seriously huge and surrounded by an enormous brick fence. It also looked very new, as if it had been built recently. He wasn't the only one standing there though. There was a sea of students walking past him as they entered through the large gate opening.

Of course, they were not all humans either. There was a wide variety of different Liminal entering onto the school campus, ranging from Lamia to even large Ogres. It was an interesting sight to behold. He had never seen an atmosphere quite like it before, not to mention the various interesting Liminals that passed by.

He was also attaching quite a bit of attention as well from the people walking through the gates. He could understand though because of his spikey blond hair and crystal blue eyes. He noticed that his hair color wasn't very common here in Japan. That, and most of the people passing by were probably wondering why he wasn't wearing the standard school uniform.

Roxas also noticed this detail, but he had yet to receive his own uniform. It was strange seeing everyone wearing the same exact clothing, but it must have been a culture thing. Of course, some were modified to fit the different body types of the Liminal's, but for the most part, everyone looked like they were wearing the same outfit.

The girls were mostly wearing a dark blue sweater accompanied with a white blouse underneath with a red tie. Those that could wore a marron plaid skirt with long black socks and shoes. For those who couldn't wear skirts like Centaurs, they wore something that resembled a large blanket over there lower half with the same design.

The boys mostly wore a dark blue uniform jacket and matching slacks with dark shoes. Their style was a bit plainer. Though if Roxas were being honest with himself, he would have to say that the uniforms looked a little restricting, but he would have to make due.

He also noticed that most of the Liminal were accompanied by humans, most of which were quite a bit older than them. It wasn't until the Liminals walked through the gates that the humans left. It just reminded him of the rule that Liminal were not allowed out on their own. Though, that rule seemed extremely counterproductive if they were trying to incorporate Liminal into society, but what did he know? He was just glad he didn't have to abide by that rule because he didn't want someone shadowing him every time he wanted to go out.

Hearing giggling from his left, Roxas glanced over to see a small group of girls around his age staring over at him while whispering amongst themselves. As soon as he made eye contact, there giggling increased and a couple even lightly waved in his direction.

Roxas frowned a bit at the gesture but simply waved back, causing them all to burst into a fit of giggles before rushed through the gate and onto the campus.

"…weird." Roxas said simply as he turned his attention back to the massive school. So, this was where he was going to learn things about this society. That was something that really interested the nobody. He wanted to learn more about this culture, about this world…

And about the heart.

A loud bell rung in the background, causing the rest of the students to hurry into the main gate and onto the campus. Seeing that everyone was rushing into the building confirmed to Roxas that it was probably a warning that classes would be starting soon. So, taking a step into the campus, Roxas started his first day of school.

* * *

While he was walking through the massive hallway, Roxas noticed that different students were rushing into sorted classrooms. Another thing he didn't know was which classroom would be his, but that's why he was on his way to the headmaster's office. He not only needed to get his uniform, but he also needed his class schedule. Since Smith signed him up a couple months after school started, everyone was already assigned classes but him.

The only problem was that it was hard to navigate this huge school. There were so many hallways, so many turns and twists that he didn't have a clue as to where he was supposed to go. How was he supposed to find a single room in this huge facility? There weren't any maps or anything.

That's when he noticed someone walked down the hallway in his direction. She was about his age…or the age he looked. Based on her appearance, she was a Liminal. Her skin and hair was pitch black. Her arms and legs were covered with a thick layer of black fir. Her feet and hands were more like large paws with huge red claws. The hair on her head was also dark black and ran down the middle of her back. She also had two large canine ears on the top of her head.

But her most noticeable future was her vibrant red eyes. They were currently staring out the window as they approached each other.

"…um-" Roxas started, trying to get the girls attention. However, he was immediately interrupted when the girl shot her gaze at him and narrowed her eyes into a glare.

"What? You got somethin' to say?" the girl asked harshly.

"…Do you know where the headmaster's office is?" Roxas asked simply, a little startled by her abrupt attitude.

"And why would I know that? Just because I'm a hellhound doesn't mean I get into trouble all the time you know." The girl snapped, glaring at Roxas with her red, slit iris. She folded her arms under her large breasts, one claw tapping her forearm impatiently.

"…So, you don't know?" Roxas asked curiously, not even fazed by her glare.

"…" The girl didn't quite expect that reaction. Usually people wilted right away when she glared at them, or even when she told them what kind of Liminal she was. She looked this boy up and down, noticing that he was about her age, but he wasn't wearing the standard school attire. "You knew or somethin'?" She asked.

Roxas simply nodded. "I was told to meet the headmaster of this school so I could get my schedule."

"Humph. Down the hallway and take a right. Go up the flight of stairs, ya can't miss it." The girl said quickly.

"…Thanks." Roxas responded. "I'm Roxas."

"…I don't care." The girl shot flatly as she turned and walked away, her extremely bushy tail swinging back and forth with each step.

"…Ok then" Roxas murmured as he turned and walked down the hallway in the direction the Liminal girl explained. Not the best first encounter at this school, but it wasn't horrible. At least she gave him directions.

Upon reaching the destination, another bell sounded. Roxas could only assume it was to signal the start of classes. But right now, he was standing in front of a large door. He reached up knocked a couple times.

"Come in." A feminine voice said from the other side.

Roxas didn't wait for another invitation as he pushed the door open. The room inside was rather spacious, the walls lined with bookshelves and cabinets for sorting different documents. There was also a large desk with a window right behind it. Roxas expected to see a human sitting behind the desk, but to his surprise, it was both a human male and a female Liminal sitting there.

The human was a rather average looking guy in his late-twenties, early-thirties. He had Jet black hair that was neatly combed. His face was clean-shaven and he was wearing a business suit and a pair of glasses. He also had a very stern look on his face. Overall, he looked extremely professional.

However, the one that caught his eye was the female Liminal sitting next to him. She looked rather young, maybe in her mid-twenties. She had long purple hair that was neatly tied up in a ponytail. Her eyes were also a vibrant violate color. But the features that caught his attention the most was her the large scaly wings that protruded from her back. The wings were covered in dark green scales along with her arms that were accompanied with long talons. She also had a pair of horns on the top of her head.

All in all, this woman radiated with a countenance of power. It was rather impressive if Roxas didn't say so himself.

Both the Liminal and human smiled as he walked into the room. "Welcome, I assume by the way you are dressed that you are the new student Smith transferred here, are you not?" The Liminal asked.

Roxas simply stood there in front of the desk. "I am."

There was a brief pause they looked Roxas over curiously.

"Hmm…. Well Smith wasn't exaggerating when she said you looked human. You also smell human as well, but she insisted you are a Liminal. Is that correct?"

"Yes…"

The Lady chuckled slightly as she gestured to a chair in front of her desk. "Sit down."

Roxas did as was told and took a seat in front of them.

"My name is Katla, you will refer to me as Mrs. Katla." The Liminal started as she gestured to the human. "This is my fiancé, Ryota Takagi. If you didn't know, we are the headmistress and headmaster of this academy." She said proudly.

"Welcome." Ryota said in a deep masculine voice.

"…It's nice to meet you both." Roxas responded, not quite sure what a fiancé was, but he decided not to ask. There were more important things he needed to know.

"Indeed. I was given a call yesterday by your guardian and he shed some light on your particularly unique circumstance. Is it true that you possess amnesia?" Katla asked.

"…Yes."

"Really, and how much do you remember?"

"…I don't remember anything past 11 days ago," Roxas responded.

"Interesting." Katla said as she stroked her chin with her elongated talon. "So, I guess that explains why no one knows what Liminal you are. But if Smith says you are one, then I don't think I can argue. Either way, I would like to welcome you to this academy."

"Thank you."

The Liminal stood from her seat as she walked over to one of the cabinets before pulling it open. Roxas watched her every move. This was another Liminal he had yet to see before. Her wings were neatly tucked into her sides, but they were still large enough to make her look twice as big as she really was.

Fishing out a file from the cabinets, Katla walked over to Roxas and handed it to him. Roxas simply stared at the file before he reached out and took it. Flipping open the folder, he found a few documents within.

"This file contains your class schedule, as well as the rules for the campus. Make sure to abide by them because we value obedience here. You break the rules, you get punished. Simple as that." Ryota said sternly.

Roxas thumbed through he pages, reading the contents of his class schedule and a few rules.

"Just briefly, I will go over some core rules with you." he said, getting Roxas's attention. "First, there is absolutely no violence between students. We are trying to incorporate Liminal into the school systems, so we don't want anything that will hinder that progress. Two, Liminal's who are on campus don't need to be accompanied by a host. So, if a Liminal is on campus, they are fine to walk around alone. But since you are a special case, you don't really have to worry about that rule, do you?" Ryota said, a hint of distaste in his voice.

Roxas noticed that Katla frowned a bit at hearing that rule, but Ryota placed his hand over hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze. It was a curious gesture, but it seemed to calm her down.

"Is something wrong?" Roxas asked.

Ryota glanced over at Roxas, his eyebrow raised before he noticed where Roxas was looking. He instantly let go of her hand/paw. "No, nothing at all. Rule three, human Students here are issued a special host pass that allows them to be a host for any Liminal that attends this school. This makes it possible for Liminal and human to go out as classmates for recreation." he said, the hint of distaste growing a bit more.

"…can I ask something?"

"…What is it?"

"Why do Liminals need a host?" Roxas asked, clearly curious about that rule. He never quite understood the reason for it. If Liminal were trying to be incorporated into human society, why did they always need to be accompanied by a human?

The Ryota and Katla were a bit surprised by the question. Not many humans asked it because they just blindly listened to their government. Giving a sigh, Katla shuffled some papers on her desk. "In a roundabout way of saying it, I think it's because there is still quite a bit of prejudice towards Liminal. Liminal have not been introduced to the world for that long. So, my guess is that there were many who were resistant to change. To comply with them, they was a compromise that forced Liminal to be accompanied by humans any time they went out."

"…It seems counterproductive."

"And it is," Katla said, her mood brightening up a bit. "But for now, we must comply with the rules. We need humans to accept us. It's a slow process, but I believe one day the rules will be changed. That's what we are working towards here."

Roxas paused a bit as he looked over at Ryota. "Are you her host as well?"

Surprisingly, Ryota let out a chuckle as he smiled over at his fiancé. "Young man, Katla is a dragon. Dragons are one of the most respected and powerful Liminal out there. There are many humans that even worship them. If she were forced to have a host, then many would consider that sacrilegious." He finished, causing Katla to blush slightly. "Though I am the one that showed her around and answered her questions when she first got here. But enough questions, you have a class to attend."

Roxas glanced down at his schedule. "Classroom 1-B…Where is that exactly?"

Katla laughed softly as she recomposed herself. "On the first floor. It's the second closest room to the entrance. This school is large, but you will learn to find your way around."

"…Thank you." Roxas said simply as he stood from his chair.

"Oh, and one more thing." Katla said, getting Roxas's attention once more. "Since you are basically human, you don't need any special conditions for your uniform. Come here after school and it will be ready for you."

"Thank you."

"Alright, off with you." Katla said as she picked up another paper on her desk on started reading it before turning to Ryota and asking a few questions.

Roxas didn't need to be told twice as he left the room. Katla and Ryota were interesting. He was surprised to find out that they were the ones in charge, but then again if they were trying to incorporate Liminal into society, then it made sense to put one in a position of power.

* * *

Walking down the stairs, Roxas made his way down the hallway, reading the numbers as they passed by.

"E…D…C…B" Roxas said as he finally found a classroom with the words 1-B on the outside. "This must be it."

He could hear a muffled voice from the other side of the door, meaning that class had already started. Without any hesitation, Roxas grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

It was dead quiet as every head in the room turned to the nobody. It was a rather large classroom with nearly every seat filled with students. The students were diverse as well, but the majority were still made up of humans.

The teacher was staring over at him with an eyebrow raised. She was in the middle of writing something on the board when he opened the door. It was a female teacher with blond hair and a pair of fox ears on the top of her head. She had a single large bushy tail with a white tip swaying back and forth. The rest of her body was also covered in golden fur, but her arms and legs were the thickest. Surprisingly, her hands were dainty and she was wearing shoes as well.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, Headmistress Katla just messaged me a few moments ago about someone coming. You wouldn't happen to be Roxas would you?"

Roxas nodded as he walked into the classroom, instantly sparking a wave of whispering among the other students. He held out his schedule for the teacher to see. "This is my classroom, right?"

"Indeed, it is. My name is Mrs. Kitsuna and I will be your home teacher." She said with a bright smile, showing off her canines. "Why don't you turn to the class and introduce yourself."

Roxas blinked a few times as he turned to face the classroom full of students. "My name is Roxas…Kurusu." He said simply.

"…"

There was a pregnant pause as everyone waited for him to say something else, but they were only met with silence. It was just about to get awkward before Kitsuna decided to speak up.

"Well…Um…" Mrs. Kitsuna said, a little thrown off my Roxas's extremely short introduction. "Is there anything else you would like to share with us?"

"…Like what?"

"Um…Your favorite food?"

"…Sea salt ice cream." Roxas said simply.

"…"

There was another pause before a sudden gasp echoed through the classroom. Most heads, including Roxas's turned to the noise. The source was from a girl who was sitting at the middle edge of the classroom by the window. She was a Liminal based on the snow-white fur on her arms and legs. Her skin was darkly tanned and the hair on her head was as white as fresh snow. In fact, she looked extremely familiar…

"…Yukiko?" Roxas asked, mildly surprised.

"R-Roxas? You're the new transfer student?" Yukiko responded, her eyes growing much wider along with the smile on her face.

"…Yeah."

A huge smile spread across her face and she looked like she was barely able to contain herself. "That's AWESOME!"

Kitsuna glanced between Roxas and Yukiko a couple times before her lips curled up in a warm smile. "Well, since you two seem to be familiar with each other, why don't you take a seat in front of her, Roxas." She said.

"…Ok." Roxas responded quietly as he walked down the small aisle way of desks to the empty seat. The students began whispering again, most of them pointing at Roxas and Yukiko with confused expressions. But Roxas paid no attention to that. He did notice Yukiko beaming at him as he approached. Her paws were grasping the sides of her desk eagerly.

"I can't believe it! We're in the same class." Yukiko gushed happily, causing the corners of Roxas's lips to curl upward slightly.

"…It's quite the coincidence." He responded

"You can say that again."

"Hey you two! You can socialize during lunch period. Class needs to continue." Kitsuna chided softly.

"Oh! Right, sorry" Yukiko said as she scratched the back of her head with her large paw, a sheepish smile on her face.

Roxas wordlessly took a seat in his new desk and pulled out a notebook and pen from his bag. If there was one tip that Kimihito had told him, it was to take notes as often as possible because you would never know when something said in the class might pop up in a test.

Little did the nobody know that the person sitting right behind him had a huge smile on her face. She could not believe that she got to see her friend so soon. But not only that, he was in the same class as her. It seemed that luck was finally shining down on her after so long.

There was also another person who glanced over at Roxas and Yukiko. She was sitting in the back of the classroom with her chin in her paw, idling wondering how Yukiko and Roxas knew each other. But the thought only passed through her mind briefly as she went back to barely listening to the teacher talk. Though because the lesson was dry, it was making it hard for her to keep her red eyes open.

* * *

It was a couple hours later that a bell sounded. Kitsuna glanced over at the clock with a surprised expression on her face. "Well would you look at that! Time sure does fly when you're having fun, right?" She said a she turned back to the class. She received a less than enthusiastic groan in response, causing her to giggle. "You are dismissed." She said as he took a stack of papers off her desk and exited the classroom to the teachers lounge.

Slowly, different students began to stand from their desks, stretching their arms to the ceiling before congregating into their little clicks.

Roxas closed his notebook, wondering here everyone was going. From what he learned, school usually lasted quite a bit longer than this. The topics were also interesting and useful. You could see that Mrs. Kitsuna was busting her tail to make the lessons interesting, and she was doing a good job at it.

He was pulled from his thoughts when a sudden weight impacted him from behind. Two fluffy arms circled around his neck before a chin rested on his shoulder.

"I can't believe how lucky I am! We're in the same class Roxas! The same CLASS! What are the chances?" She squealed in delight, nearly crushing Roxas's windpipe.

"…Yukiko…Need to breath." Roxas struggled to say.

"Oh, Sorry about that," Yukiko said as she released the boy. She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head again. "I couldn't help it. Do you know how hard it was to hold myself back when I first saw you walk through the door?"

"…No."

"Well it was hard ok?" Yukiko exclaimed cheerfully. "Yeti's love to hug people! It's part of who we are."

"You don't say." Roxas responded, remembering that she hugged him the second he agreed to be friends with her.

"Yeah! So, when did you transfer here? Why did you transfer here?"

"…Smith signed me up." Roxas said simply. This girl was seriously blasting him with questions so fast that he couldn't quite come up with answers fast enough.

"Oh! You mean the coordinator? I remember her!" Yukiko said cheerfully as she grabbed his arm with one of her paws. "What are you still sitting there for? Let's eat lunch together."

"…Lunch?"

"Yeah silly. Its lunch hour."

"oh…" Roxas responded, now understanding where everyone was going. He really needed to look over his schedule again if he forgot about lunch. He stood from his desk and tucked away the notepad into his bookbag.

"You're funny. Did you seriously forget about lunch?" Yukiko asked as she grabbed her bag.

"…you could say that."

"Hey!"

Roxas and Yukiko turned to the sudden noise. They both saw a small group of girls standing there. They were all human and frowning over at them with their arms crossed. Instantly, Roxas noticed Yukiko's countenance drop quite significantly. He watched her slowly cross her arms, almost as if she were trying to hide them.

One of the girls marched up to them, glaring at Yukiko. "Leave the new kid alone freak. He doesn't need to be bothered by you on his first day."

Instantly, Yukiko clammed up, looking at the ground while biting her lower lip.

Roxas was honestly shocked at this girl's words. Why in the world would they say that to her? What did Yukiko do to them?

The girl then turned to Roxas, her lips forming into a kind smile. "Sorry about that. Our school is kinda infested with pests. Trust us, we protested all we could, but they still let them into our schools. And one of them even helps run this school. Can you believe that?" She asked him, but all she got was a confirming response from her groupies.

Roxas however stayed silent as he felt his eyes narrow slightly.

"What's your name cutie?" The girl asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

A very familiar feeling was welling up in Roxas's gut as this girl continued to talk. It was the same feeling he got when he saw those other boys harassing Yukiko at the mall. He really didn't like that feeling.

"…Roxas."

"Well, I'm Kichi. You stick with us, and we will make sure the freaks don't bother you." She said as she thumbed to the other girls standing behind them. He noticed a couple of them were the ones that waved at him near the entrance of the school.

Yukiko was on the brink of tears now. These human girls were trying to take Roxas away on the first day of school. And to make matters worse, Roxas didn't have a single reason to refuse them. They were all very pretty and they were human.

"…Why did you say that?" Roxas asked, legitimately curious.

Everyone seemed a bit befuddled by his question. Even Yukiko glanced up at Roxas with a curious expression on her face.

Kichi cocked an eyebrow before crossing her arms under her chest. "Say what?"

"Why did you call her a freak?"

Again, everyone in the room blinked in confusion at Roxas's question. It was obvious they didn't expect that reaction. But the one who was most surprised was Yukiko.

Regardless, Kichi unfolded her arms and gave a very arrogant shrug while resting her hands on her hips.

"Because that's what she is. She's not the only freak around here though. All Liminal in this school are disgusting. I mean, look at them," She started, pointing to Yukiko's furry arms. "It's completely gross! Talk about a lack of hygiene."

"…I wash very thoroughly." Yukiko whispered, tears burning in her eyes again.

The girl scoffed. "Yeah right! Just keep your distance, because I don't need flees." Kichi sneered, causing Yukiko to shrink back again.

Roxas felt his eye twitch as that ugly feeling started to burn within his chest more fervently. He really didn't like what Kichi was saying. But more than that, he didn't like how Yukiko was being affected by her words.

"They get introduced to the world and completely eat away at the governments funds. I don't see why they even came out of hiding. Who in their right mind would ever want them in society? You know, besides those sick perverted people?"

Roxas found himself clenching his teeth as the ugly feeling was amplified. This girl was not only insulting Yukiko, but all the Liminal's Including the ones he lived with. He felt his hands curling into fists.

"I hear that even some of them need humans to reproduce. I say just deprive them all and let them go extinct. It would definitely make the world a better play-"

"Shut up."

"…"

You could have heard a pen drop in the room. Everyone was looking over at Roxas as he stood in front of the room. His fists were clenched as hard as his teeth. But even though everyone was shocked by his words, the one who was most surprised was Roxas himself. For some reason, he just couldn't stop the words from bursting out of his mouth.

Yukiko had unshed tears in her eyes, but they were completely forgotten as she looked over at Roxas, her mouth slightly ajar.

Kichi was also staring at him before her eyes narrowing slightly. "What did you say?"

Roxas hated the way he was feeling, and the more the girl talked the more that feeling was amplified. He had to get her to stop talking somehow, so he just opened his mouth.

"I said shut up." Roxas said again as his eyes narrowed enough to send a glare at Kichi and her friends.

Kichi was a bit intimidated by his gaze. His crystal blue eyes were piercing through her like a white-hot knife. However, her own pride prevented her from backing down.

"What's your problem? We're just trying to help you."

Roxas finally had enough. He turned away from the girls as grasped Yukiko's arm. "Let's go." He said, leaving no room for argument as he basically dragged a shocked Yukiko out of the room.

The entire classroom was dead silent as they watched the two exit. No one had ever completely blown off Kichi like that before. But not only that, He stood up for a Liminal. That almost never happened because everyone knew that was a one-way ticket to making your school life a living hell.

"Did-Did that just happen?" One of Kichi's friends asked, still a bit shocked.

"Yes…I believe it did." Kichi responded as she narrowed her eyes. "You just signed your death certificate Roxas."

In the corner of the room, a young hellhound had watched the scene with great interest. She expected Roxas to leap at their offer like any other hormonal boy would do. But he straight up told her to shut her mouth. That was far more amusing that she could have ever hoped for. She couldn't help but let a small smile cross her lips, completely satisfied that Kichi got what she so deserved.

But what impressed her more was the way Roxas reacted. He seemed legitimately angry by Kichi's words. That surprised her quite a bit since she hadn't seen many humans who would do that for a Liminal.

* * *

Roxas was storming down the hallway, dragging Yukiko behind him. He fumed as his mind played back all Kichi's words. For the life of him, he could not understand why she would say such things. It was more like she was saying them just to be cruel, but why?

And what's more, Roxas was amazed by what he said. It's like the words just erupted from his mouth. He wanted desperately to get her to be quiet that he told her to shut up. How? What was going on?

"Um…Roxas? It hurts." Yukiko squeaked.

Roxas blinked a few times as he turned to the Yeti girl behind him. He noticed that he was gripping her arm rather tightly, so he let go.

"…Sorry."

Yukiko massaged her arm a bit before she shook her head. "No…Its alright." She said before biting her lower lip. "Why did you say that?"

"Say what?" Roxas asked.

Yukiko shuffled uncomfortably, not sure why she was even asking him. "Why did you tell her to shut up. She's just going to make your life miserable from now on."

"…Because I didn't like what she was saying. It made me…" Roxas paused, realizing that what he was about to say was supposed to be impossible. "It made me…"

"Angry?" Yukiko finished curiously.

Roxas swallowed as he tried to gather his thoughts. "yeah…It made me angry." He confirmed. Though that thought hit him like a ton of bricks. There was no denying it. What Kichi said made him angry. Anger was an emotion…

But nobodies weren't supposed to feel emotions, so what was going on with him?

Yukiko silently looked to the ground, not sure if she could trust her voice at this moment. Tears were peaking the corner of her eyes again. "Why?"

Roxas noticed she asked the question in a slightly cracked voice. "Why what?" Roxas asked, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind for now.

"Why didn't you take their offer? You're human, aren't you? Wouldn't it be better if they were your friends?" She asked as she continued to look at the ground, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"…But aren't we friends?"

Yukiko blinked as she looked up at him, her mouth slightly ajar.

"You asked me if we could be friend, right?" Roxas started, trying to understand why Yukiko was asking these questions. "So why are you asking me that?"

"I-I just," Yukiko stuttered, more tears welling up in her eyes.

"Besides, I…" Roxas paused, trying to find the right words. "I don't want anything to do with them, not when they say things like that about my friends." Roxas finished, thinking about all his Liminal friends he had made since he got here. Miia, Centorea, Suu, Papi, Zombina, Tio, Doppel, Manako, all of them he considered friends. And even though he didn't quite understand the concept yet, he knew that friends were important and they should look after each other.

Yukiko's lower lip trembled slightly as she looked Roxas straight in the eye. There was no deception in his crystal blue orbs. What he was saying was completely true. He really did want to be her friend. With that thought, she could no longer contain herself as she pounced on the boy.

Roxas didn't know what happened. One second he was talking with Yukiko, and then next he found himself unable to see and nearly unable to breath. He felt two arms constrict around the back of his head as his face was pressed into something extremely soft. Two legs also wrapped around his waist and the sudden force nearly caused him to fall flat on his back. Luckily, he managed to keep standing, but his arms were up in the air in shock. He didn't expect the Liminal girl to clamp onto him like that.

"Th-Thank you Roxas!" Yukiko said, a few tears escaping her eyes. A massive smile crossed her face as she literally squeezed the life out of him. "You're the first friend I ever made since I got here. Th-thanks! Thanks for not leaving."

"Mmph!" Roxas muffled through the fabric of her sweater, his arms started to flail around. This really reminded him of when he was hugged by Tio, though Tio had a much larger chest than Yukiko.

"Oh, Sorry!" Yukiko said as she slipped off him, wiping her tears away with her arm. "I-I was just so happy you wanted to be friends with me.

Roxas shook his head, trying to shake of the sensation of almost suffocating. "…Why wouldn't I?"

Yukiko didn't answer as she wrapped both her arms around his right arm in a light hug. "C'mon, it's still lunch time. I wanna eat before next period starts."

Roxas glanced over at her curiously. She was in his space, but she seemed so happy just holding his arm to her chest. For some reason, he didn't mind though, so he let her drag him away to wherever she wanted to go.

* * *

Yukiko lead Roxas to the outside of the school building before plopping down on the grass in the shade. She patted the spot next to her, inviting Roxas to sit down as well which he did. She then opened her bag before pulling out a couple Onigiri and happily taking a large bite out of one.

Roxas also opened his bag, but he pulled out the full bento box that Kimihito gave him before he left for school. Upon opening it, he saw an assortment of different foods within. Rice, sausage, shrimp, and even hard-boiled egg. If there was one thing that Kimihito excelled at, it sure was cooking.

"Wow! Did you make all that?" Yukiko asked as she finished her first rice ball, leaving a bit of rice was stuck to her cheek. She was gazing down at his bento in wonder.

"…No. Kimihito did."

"Oh, you mean that guy you were with at the mall? Who is he? You brother?"

Roxas shook his head. "No…He's my host."

"…"

It took Yukiko a moment to register what he just said.

"Wait, your host? You're a Liminal?"

Slowly, Roxas nodded his head as he pulled out his chopsticks and placed a bite of the rice in his mouth. It was perfectly cooked, but he expected nothing less of Kimihito.

Yukiko blinked in confusion as she looked over his features again and again. There was absolutely no evidence that would label him as a Liminal. "You look like a human though. What Liminal are you?"

"…I don't know. I took a few tests that confirmed I was human, but I can do things that Humans can't."

"You don't know what Liminal you are? Why not?"

"because I don't remember anything past 11 day ago," Roxas said simply as he took another bite of rice.

"…"

There was another long pause as Yukiko's eyes widened. "Wait, you have Amnesia?" she asked before she burst out laughing. "You're funny. You got to be pulling my leg, right? Right?" She asked, nudging his arm playfully.

Roxas chewed his food before swallowing. He slowly turned his head and looked her dead in the eye with a completely serious expression on her face.

"…Your serious." Yukiko whispered, her eyes widening again. "You can't remember anything? Then how do you even know you're a Liminal?"

Roxas shrugged. "I'm stronger, faster, and more durable than humans I guess. I don't know why though."

"Wow." Yukiko said in wonder. "My first friend is an Amnestic superhuman."

"…That's one way to put it." Roxas said with amusement.

"Then that means I can hug you as hard as I want and you won't break, right?" Yukiko exclaimed with excitement as she downed her second rice ball.

Roxas blinked a few times as he glanced over at her. "I…Guess?" he said before he noticed Yukiko had already finished all her food. "Is that all you brought?"

"Yep!" She said cheerfully as she leaned back on her arms. "My host doesn't spend much money on food, but I've been learning to make due. Though I do wonder sometimes where the government reimbursement goes to."

"Government reimbursement?" Roxas asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah silly." Yukiko said, glancing over at him with a curious look. "How else is a human supposed to finance a Liminal's appetite. Doesn't your host get reimbursements?"

"…Not that I know of."

Yukiko blinked in surprise. "Wait, you're talking about that human guy that was with you at the mall, right?" She asked, causing Roxas to nod. "Then is he the host for the other Liminal as well? All of them?"

Roxas nodded again as he took another bite of rice while absorbing everything Yukiko was telling him.

"Then surely the government does something for him! Unless he's loaded, then he won't be able to support that many on his own." She exclaimed.

"I'll ask him about it. But from what I know, he's been doing just that."

"Holy crap! Taking care of…" Yukiko paused as she sorted through her memory. "Four Liminal all on his own."

"…well, five now actually."

"He got another one?" Yukiko asked, her eyes widening again.

"Well, sort of. Yesterday, I found a slime in the bathroom,"

"…You've gotta to be kidding me now. Slimes are crazy rare,"

"No, I'm serious. I named her Suu because she didn't have a name…In fact, she doesn't know…Much of anything actually. I'm going to be teaching her stuff I learned in school." Roxas said as he finished off the rice.

"That's So COOL!" Yukiko exclaimed, startling Roxas a bit by her enthusiasm. "You have to invite me over so I can see! I've always wanted to see a slime in person."

Roxas found the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. It was interesting to see her so excited about the prospect of meeting Suu. "Sure." He said before a sudden rumbling sound came from Yukiko. Instantly, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Roxas caught a glimpse of her beat red face before she covered it up with her large yeti paws.

"…Are you still hungry?" He asked.

"N-No…Well, maybe a little. We don't have much to eat at home," Yukiko said shyly as she lowered her hand just enough so Roxas could see her eyes, which were filled with embarrassment.

Again, Roxas felt the corners of his mouth curl upward in amusement. He couldn't help it for some reason. Just seeing Yukiko's antics caused a warm feeling to bud within his chest.

"AH! Your laughing at me!" Yukiko exclaimed, her face puffing out playfully.

Roxas blinked a few times as he absorbed her words. Was he laughing, or was he just amused? Either way was supposed to be impossible.

"…Maybe." He responded honestly.

"MUU!" Yukiko whined before she noticed Roxas hand over his bento to her, the chopsticks resting on the side of the box. "What?"

"We have plenty to eat where I live. Here, have some," Roxas said, extending the box over to her.

Yukiko looked between the bento and Roxas a few times, her eyes widening a bit more. "…Really?"

"Yeah. Kimihito always makes a feast for every meal. Besides, I'm not to hungry right now," He said honestly. Kimihito didn't know how to restrain himself when it came to feeding people, he always went all out.

Yukiko's eyes got all big and watery as she gave a sniffle. She was extremely hesitant, but also really hungry. "You're so nice Roxas!" She said as she slowly reached out and took the bento from him and picking up the chopstick with her large fingers. She hesitated for a few second though because her mind instantly remembered that Roxas also used these chopsticks to eat. Wasn't this known as an indirect kiss or something?

Blushing a bit, she glanced over at Roxas to see him absently gazing up into the sky. It seemed that the thought didn't even cross his mind.

Shrugging, she carefully picked up a small sausage and ate it. She paused for a brief moment as she let the delicious taste of the food roll over her tongue.

"It's so good!" She said as she tore into the rest of the bento.

Again, Roxas couldn't help but smile slightly as he watched her finished off the rest of his lunch. Again, he felt a feeling of warmth spread through his chest when he saw how happy she was. He really liked the way if felt.

But…Why?

What was going on with him? How could he be feeling this way considering what he was? It was pounded in his head since day one that nobodies felt nothing. They were nothing.

So why?

* * *

Another bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Roxas was leaning back on his arms, letting the cool breeze caress his face as Yukiko pick the bento clean of any food.

"Thanks, Roxas! It was amazing," Yukiko said cheerfully as she handed him the empty box.

"…It's no big deal." Roxas responded, taking the box from her and storing it away. "If you want, I can ask Kimihito to make a lunch for you."

Yukiko blinked again, amazed he would even offer. "No, its fine. I wouldn't want to burden him more than he already is."

"I doubt he would mind." Roxas said as he stood up off the ground, extending a hand to Yukiko. Again, she smiled up at him as she grasped his hand, allowing him to pull her up. "Besides, I think he will be thankful to learn that he will be reimbursed for food bills."

Yukiko looked a bit uncomfortable still. "…I don't know."

Roxas smiled slightly as he turned to walk back into the school. He took a few steps before he felt two soft arms wrap around his right arm again. He glanced over to see Yukiko clinging onto him with a bright smile on her face. "What is it?"

"Yeti's like to hug, remember?" Yukiko said as she hugged his arm tighter.

"…ok." Roxas said simply, not sure how to respond to that. He simply started to walk again with the Happy Yeti hanging off his arm.

Little did both know, there was another figure that was watching from the corner of the building. She frowned slightly at the interaction between the two before she turned and walked away.

Roxas's next period was not in the homeroom this time. Yukiko was kind enough to escort him to the men's locker room before she left for the girl's locker room.

When he entered, he was surprised to see that he already had a locker with his name on it. Inside was a change of…what he could only guess was gym cloths. It consisted of a white shirt, a pair of black shorts, and shoes.

Shrugging, Roxas grabbed his cloths and started to change. He was right in the middle of tying his shoes when he noticed that a couple kids were standing in front of him. He looked up to see a few boys around his age standing there with their arms crossed. One of them had a sneer on his face as he took a step closer.

"Well, look who we found here. Herd you gave Kichi the cold shoulder and ran off with some Liminal."

Roxas gave them a flat look before he leaned down and finished tying his shoe, not even responding to them. Needless to say, they didn't take being ignored too well.

"What kind of disgusting freak would hang out with one of them?"

Again, Roxas ignored them as he moved onto his next shoe.

"Man, you must either be extremely desperate or a complete loser to make friends with a Liminal. So, which is it?"

Roxas finished tying his shoes as he stood up. These kids were about his height as well, but they all looked so fragile.

"Neither. Yukiko asked me to be her friend and I said yes."

"Really! Why?"

"Because she's a nice person." Roxas responded as push past the group of boys. Of course, they try to resist, but it was completely futile. He shoved right past them causing a couple to stumble.

The main boy grit his teeth in anger as he stormed up to him.

"Liminal aren't people! They're an abomination, creatures that shouldn't exist in our world."

Roxas stopped cold, his fists slowly curling into fists again.

"In fact, it would be better if they didn't exist. Why couldn't they stay in hiding so we wouldn't have to deal with them? They should just disappear. It's not like we wanted them to exist anyway."

Roxas was shaking now. This boy's words were hitting way to close to home.

"And what would you know of existence?" Roxas said through clenched teeth. His voice was so cold and angry that is caused the boys to take a step back. Roxas turned to face them, his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched.

"What gives a person a right to exist while another doesn't? Who gets to decide that? You?" Roxas challenged, taking a step towards them.

The boys were a bit freaked out by Roxas's sudden change in attitude. They didn't expect it at all because they thought he would be too intimidated to respond. But they could literally feel Roxas's hostility pouring out of him.

"Everyone deserves to exist, but some are less fortunate than others. They are left in the twilight, never getting the chance. So tell me, what right do you have to say someone shouldn't exist?"

The boys were too intimidated to answer, so Roxas turned and stormed out of the locker room, leaving everyone who witnessed speechless.

* * *

Yukiko was cheerfully changing into her gym cloths as well. She just had one of the best lunches she ever had since she got here. She giggled happily when she thought about the fact that the boy who stood up for her a couple days ago was in her class. Not only that, but he was super kind to her despite having amnesia. He even stood up to the bullies in her class and rejected there offer just to stay friends with her.

She giggled again as she pulled her shirt over her sizeable bust, getting a look of envy from a couple other girls. Despite being young, she was very well-developed.

"Hey freak!"

Instantly, her happiness was gone as she recognized the voice behind her. He was about to turn around before she felt something wet trickle down from the top her head. She squealed uncomfortably as she jumped away from the small group of girls who just dumped a bottle of water on her. It wasn't cold because she was a yeti monster, but it was still very uncomfortable to be in wet clothing.

Kichi stood there with the bottle in her hand and a sneer on her face. "Aw, what's wrong, you got all wet?" She asked in a mocking voice.

Yukiko shook her head, getting a bit of water out of her hair, but her shirt was soaked. It was becoming see though, showing off her bra.

"Ha-ha, well, it looks like gym is starting soon. you don't want to be late, right?" Kichi said in an extremely condescending voice as she and her group of friends started to walk away, laughing.

Yukiko looked down at her shirt, completely embarrassed again. She didn't want to go out there like this where everyone could see her underwear. It would be completely embarrassing. But if she didn't, it would hurt her grades.

"Hold still."

Yukiko jumped as she felt a large paw clasp around her sleeve. She glanced over to see one of her fellow Liminal classmate holding onto her.

"Oh…Hi Pyra." Yukiko said quietly to the hellhound.

Pyra rolled her eyes at Yukiko's reaction, but didn't hold it against her. Hellhounds had a bad reputation after all. But she pushed that aside as she focused on the task at hand. Instantly, Yukiko's shirt warmed up immensely, almost to the point where she thought it would burst into flames. But the damp shirt began to steam, causing the water to evaporate off. It was a couple seconds later before the shirt was completely dry.

Yukiko felt the hellhound release her. She stared over into her blood red eyes before giving a small smile. "T-Thank you."

Pyra simply stared back. "Don't worry about it. Happens all the time to Liminal around here."

"Yeah, I guess it does, doesn't it?" Yukiko responded meekly.

"Oh, give it a rest." Pyra said, a bit of annoyance in her voice. "I'm not going to eat you ok?"

"S-Sorry."

Giving a sigh, Pyra shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Hellhounds have a reputation for a reason I guess." She said as glanced over at the nervous Yeti. "So…You know that Roxas kid, right?"

"Yes…He's my friend."

Pyra's eyes narrowed a little. "A word of advice, don't be friends with humans. They only backstab and betray you in the end."

It took a few seconds for Yukiko's mind to process Pyra's warning. Surprisingly, she frowned a bit. "Why? Roxas is a really nice person." She responded, leaving out the part that Roxas was technically a Liminal.

"You're just asking for pain then. Humans are lying manipulators. They only care about themselves." Pyra said coldly.

"B-Big talk for a hellhound." Yukiko bit back, a little annoyed that her classmate would say that about Roxas.

Instead of being angry, Pyra chuckled. "Touché." She said with a grin as she exited the locker room.

* * *

Roxas was still fuming as the boy's words played through his mind. It pissed him off to no end. How dare he say that some people deserved to exist while others didn't. It was exactly like the philosophy behind Nobodies. They weren't supposed to exist, but why was that? Why was there existence so despised? It's not like they had a choice in the matter.

"Roxas!"

Roxas rounded almost violently on the person who called out his name. So much so that it scared Yukiko half to death. Seeing her frightened eyes caused the fire to die down quite a bit. "S-Sorry." Roxas said as he turned away from her.

"No, it's ok. Were you bulled too?" She asked somberly.

"Something like that. I didn't like what they said to me."

"Yeah, I can tell. You were pretty angry this morning too." Yukiko said as she approached him, resting a furry hand on his shoulder. Roxas could feel the padding through his shirt and he glanced over at her understanding look. "I'm sorry. You were bulled because of me."

"No, I wasn't." Roxas responded. "I was bulled because those guys are idiots. That's it."

Yukiko blinked a few times as she remembered Roxas saying almost the same thing to her when he got punched in the face the other day. His logic was so strange sometimes. But it did cause the guilt to die down a bit and a small smile to cross her face. She reached forward and hugged him from behind which caused Roxas to stiff up a little.

"…Were you picked on too?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah…but I'm kinda use to it at this point." Yukiko said as she relished the feeling of hugging another person.

"Hey you two, get a room or something. Class is starting!" the gym teacher called out to them.

* * *

It was finally the last period of the day according to Yukiko. Roxas had to admit to himself, despite a couple people he preferred to stay away from, he rather enjoyed school. The lessons taught really seemed applicable to life here on this world, and he felt like he learned a lot. It also helped that he had Yukiko to answer some of the questions he had.

Finally, the last bell rung, causing Kitsuna to glance over at the clock in shock once again. "Wow, were does the time go in the day. Alright class, remember that your report on the exchange bill is due in a week from today, so make sure you study." She said cheerfully, causing most of the class to groan. One by one, the students started to rise from their desks, some stretching toward the sky, and other congregating together to socialize.

Roxas simply packed up his books into his bag before standing up. Instantly, Yukiko was beside him again with a giant smile on her face. "So, how did you like your first day?"

"…I liked it." Roxas responded. "There was a lot to learn."

They began to walk towards the room exit before the teacher stopped them. "Roxas, a moment of your time please."

Roxas paused as he looked up at the Fox Liminal teacher. She still had a kind smile on her face as her tail wagged from side to side. "What is it Mrs. Kitsuna?" Roxas asked.

"Well, you've missed a couple month's worth of classes. I just needed to let you know there were some things you needed to catch up on." She said.

"…Ok." Roxas said.

"I was hoping that you might be able to borrow one of your classmates notes so you can refresh yourself on the material. You're going to need it soon." She said with slight concern in her voice.

Instantly, Yukiko perked up. "I can help. I usually take good notes."

"excellent! Problem solved." Kitsuna said warmly.

Roxas and Yukiko bid the teacher a farewell before leaving the classroom. Yukiko was busy fishing through her bag trying to find her notebook while they walked down the hallway. Finally, she managed to find it and hand it to Roxas.

"Here you go…" She said before her smile dropped slightly.

Roxas frowned a little as he took the notes. "Is something wrong?"

She blinked a few times as she plastered a smile on her face. "Oh, no. Nothing's wrong, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"…I needed my notes for the homework today." She said, her face courting into one of pondering. "But it's ok. I'll figure it out."

"…Well, if you want, you can come over to my house and we can do the homework together." Roxas suggested. Honestly, he had no idea how to do the homework because he was new to all this. He had so much to catch up on.

Yukiko was stunned for a couple seconds before a smile nearly split her face in half. If it were possible that a smile could circle all the way around your head, Yukiko would have lost the top of her head right about now.

"You mean it!?" She asked with so much excitement she looked as if she would explode.

"yeah…I could use your help anyway. So, what do you say?"

"OF COURSE," she nearly shouted, bouncing around before she latched onto his arm to drag him out of the building.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed because I had a lot of fun describing Roxas's first day as school. Many of you probably guessed that Yukiko was going to be in the same classroom as him. So, what did you guys think?**

 **Next chapter will be a fun little study session with Roxas, Yukiko, and the gang, full of goofy shenanigans and much more.**

 **Did you like it? If you enjoyed the chapter, please let me know in a review. I really appreciate it. Merry late Christmas and happy new year.**

 **Until then!**


	6. Chapter 6: Day 11 continued

**Authors note: Wow, thank you so much on the support on the last chapter. 100 reviews already? That's amazing! It's absolutely amazing! It was awesome reading your thoughts and I'm so grateful for those who took the time to leave a review. You have no idea how much us authors appreciate it. It really lets us know that people enjoy what we write and it makes our day. So, thank you so much. Here's another chapter for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Warning: This isn't a professional work, so there will be a few spelling and grammar errors here and there.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Day 11 Continued

"Excuse me young man, I just have to check your host badge if you don't mind."

Roxas gave a sigh as he once again had to pull out his wallet and showed another officer his special host badge. The officer glanced at it for a moment before he nodded in approval.

"Alright, be on your way."

This was the third or fourth time this happen since they left the school. But they weren't the only ones because any Liminal that passed by with a human, the officer asked for their host papers.

After swinging by the headmaster's office to pick up his uniform, Roxas and Yukiko could be found walking through the middle of town on their way to Kimihito's house. They needed to take a subway train to get there, but for now, they were just enjoying a beautiful day.

Yukiko was busily tapping away at her cellphone, but she was having a hard time because her Yeti fingers were a little big for the keypad. Eventually, she hit the send button before storing the phone away in her bookbag.

"Sorry about that, I just needed to let Akio know where I was going to be." She said with a cheerful smile.

"Akio?"

"Yeah, he's…my host." She responded, a bit of hesitation in her voice.

"He was the guy at the mall, right?"

"Yep. He's usually busy during the day, so Mrs. Kitsuna and her host take me home after school."

"…She's a really nice teacher." Roxas said, thinking about her overzealous attitude toward teaching.

"She's amazing! Did you know she was one of the first Liminal teachers hired in Japan? She worked really hard to get where she is."

"…Wow."

"Yeah! She's my inspiration to never give up, and trust me there were many times I wanted to." Yukiko said, her smile fading just a bit.

"Really?"

"Well yeah. Because of the bullies and …" Yukiko said, her voice trailing off along with the rest of her smile.

"And?" Roxas asked curiously, wondering why her demeaner changed suddenly.

Blinking a couple times, Yukiko masked her face with another smile. "No, it's nothing! Hey, look over there! What's that?" she said as she pointed to a random store down the street.

Roxas felt his eyebrow rise at the sudden change in conversation. It was an extremely strange transition, almost as if Yukiko had done it intentionally to hide something. But then again, why would she do that?

Yukiko noticed that Roxas didn't say anything else, which made her very happy. Instead, he indulged her interest at the surrounding stores. She gazed around at the different buildings and people in wonder, as if she were looking at them for the first time. Occasionally, she would point to a shop with excitement and would fervently tell him that she wanted to visit it one day.

Roxas found it a bit strange because she was giving off the impression that she had never really explored the city before.

"That one too Roxas!" Yukiko exclaimed as she pointed to a random fast food place. "I heard those places make good food, but it's supposed to be really bad for you. I still want to try it thought."

"You…don't seem to get out much." Roxas commented.

Yukiko glanced over at him before pursing her lips. "Well…My host is really busy. So, he doesn't have much time to take me out. U-Unless I need some school supplies or something, he usually leaves me at home." She responded. "B-But I do have a computer, so it's not too bad." She added quickly with a forced smile.

"Haven't you asked him to show you around?"

"Um…" Yukiko fumbled, obviously not very comfortable with where the conversation was going again. "I did in the beginning, but he's just so busy. I don't want to bother him."

Roxas stared at her for a while, making the Yeti girl a bit uncomfortable. But eventually, he shrugged it off. The way she was acting was a bit weird, as if the face she was putting on was not how she felt.

Yukiko gave a little sigh of relief when she saw Roxas drop the conversation. She went back to looking around. There were a few more places she pointed out like a random fashion store, a few bakeries, and even the movie theater.

"I heard that's where people watch new movies." Yukiko exclaimed in excitement.

"I guess so. I've never been to one either."

Yukiko turned to him in shock. "You haven't?"

"Well…At least not that I remember."

"oh…Oh Yeah! Amnesia, Right." Yukiko said with a sheepish smile. "I keep forgetting that. You've probably never been to any of these places either."

"…Yeah."

"Well we should go sometime! It'll be fun!" She said as she snaked her arms around his right arm again with a happy smile on her face.

Roxas felt a small smile on his face again as he looked over at her expression. "Yeah, we should."

"I mean it wouldn't be much of a problem because you are allowed to be a host, despite being a Liminal." Yukiko said curiously. "Why is that?

"I don't know. I guess it's because the tests said I was human." Roxas responded.

"Well I'm not complaining." Yukiko said as she hugged his arm tighter. "That means we can hang out whenever we want."

"…True."

* * *

Eventually, they found themselves at the subway train station. When the doors opened, many people and Liminal spilled out and even more got on. It was completely packed, leaving no elbow room for anyone, especially not Yukiko and Roxas. They found themselves standing near the door of the subway car with people surrounding them. Though, that did little to deter Yukiko's excitement as she gazed out the door windows in wonder at all the sights.

"Wow! Look at all this Roxas." She said as she pointed out the window.

"…Um…I Don't think I can right now." Roxas said flatly. He had his back pressed to the door window while Yukiko was looking over his shoulder. She was also being pressed right against him because they had no room to move around.

"There's so much green! I have never seen so many trees in my life before."

"…There aren't any where you come from?"

"Not really." She said as she looked over into his eyes. Their faces were only a few inches apart because of the crowd. But neither seemed bothered by it. "The mountains are usually covered in snow and rock. There isn't much green that can survive up there."

"I see. Doesn't it ever get cold?"

Yukiko laughed as she looked out the window again, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Not really. Yeti's are immune to the cold because we have naturally high body temperatures. See?" She said, pushing her body even closer to his.

"…I Can tell." Roxas responded, feeling his own body temperature rise because of their close proximity.

"Yep! But the heat is not much of a problem for us either…not like the Yuki Onna."

"Yuki Onna?"

"We share the mountains with them. Have you never seen one before?" Yukiko asked curiously.

"Can't say I have."

"Well…They're probably the most human-like Liminal out there when it comes to looks." Yukiko said with a bit of jealousness in her voice. "But they can control snow and ice."

"Really?" Roxas said curiously, thinking back to Organization 13's Vexen.

"But the heat affects them pretty badly. I guess it's a fair trade off because the heat isn't bad for Yeti's."

"That's pretty cool."

"Yeah it is! But I do like the snow a lot better. It just feels like home to me." Yukiko said with a somber expression on her face.

"…Then why did you come here?"

Yukiko looked over into his eyes again. "Well…when the exchange bill was created and Liminal were introduced to the world, my parents opened an amazing resort in the mountains. My dream is to follow in their footsteps and open a Ski resort of my own."

Roxas raised an eyebrow but continued to listen.

"And I don't know anything about running a business, so I wanted to go to school. I want to attend college and earn a degree in business so I can make my dream come true." She said as she turned back to the window. "That…And I wanted to experience human society."

"Wow…Those are quite some goals."

"Damn right. And I won't ever give up until I make my dream a reality." She said before she frowned a bit. She looked over at him with an eyebrow raised. "What about you? What do you want to do?"

Roxas didn't expect her to ask that question, so he was left stumped. He didn't know what he wanted to do. He never even gave it much thought. The organization had a goal, but did that correlate with what he wanted? Did he even want anything?

Yes, he did.

"I…I just want to exist."

"…"

No one could have predicted and answer like that, especially not the Yeti who was looking into his eyes with clear confusion. So, she said the most intelligent thing she could muster.

"Huh?"

Seeing her reaction, Roxas could only give her a small smile. "Don't worry about it."

"…Ok." Yukiko responded as she looked back out the window, but she wasn't focusing on the scenery anymore. What Roxas said was really strange and it left her extremely confused.

* * *

It wasn't long before Roxas and Yukiko were standing in front of Kimihito's house. Yukiko was staring up at it in awe.

"This is where you live?"

"Yeah. This is Kimihito's home."

"It's Huge!"

Roxas felt himself smile again. "It Kinda has to be if 5 Liminal and a human are living here."

"That's true I guess." Yukiko said as she followed in Roxas's footsteps to the door. She was a little nervous because this was the first time she had been to someone else's house before.

Roxas opened the door and turned to his Yeti friend. "You coming or what?"

"Y-Yes!"

Roxas walked through the front door with Yukiko right behind him. However, right when he was about to walk through the door, something blue and yellow shot straight at him like a bullet.

"ROXAS!"

Instantly, the young nobody found two gelatinous arms and legs wrap around his torso. It hit him with such an impact that he stumbled backwards into Yukiko which caused her to lose her balance as well. Soon, all three fell flat on the floor in a tangle of limbs and slime.

Roxas was looking up at the celling with a flat look on his face. Yukiko was laying underneath him with her eyes swirling, and Suu was happily rubbing her face into Roxas's chest, humming cheerfully. Both Roxas and Yukiko were covered in the blue slime.

Slowly, Roxas looked down into the slimes eyes, his eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Suu?"

"Roxas!" Suu murmured as she constricted her arms around his neck.

"Uhh, what happened?" Yukiko muttered dizzily.

"Suu, where are you going…Oh, you're home Roxas." A voice said from down the hallway.

Roxas looked over Suu's head to see Kimihito standing in the hallway with an apron on. He was rinsing off his hands with a towel.

"…Suu slammed into us…I think." Roxas said simply.

"I can see that. She really missed you throughout the day." Kimihito said as he approached the pile of bodies.

Roxas looked down at the smiling slime before he reached up and patted her slimy hair. "Is that so?"

"Yep. She would watch the window from time to time to see if you were coming back." Kimihito said before he noticed someone else in the pile. "Oh, and who do we have here?"

Roxas blinked a couple times before he looked over his shoulder to see Yukiko laying there with a dazed expression on her face. He sat up, bringing the slime with him as he turned to face her.

"You ok, Yukiko?" he asked

His question brought her out of her stupor as she sat up and giggled. "Yeah, I'm good. Just didn't expect that when I walked through the door." She said as she looked down at her slime covered cloths.

Roxas gave the smiling slime a flat look. "Yeah, you and me both." He said before he looked up at Kimihito. "This is Yukiko. She's a friend from school. We're going to work on homework together."

"Oh, well that's nice." Kimihito said as he looked over at the Yeti girl. He noticed she shrunk back a bit when his gaze landed on her. It kinda reminded him of when he met Miia for the first time. He gave her a kind smile. "My name is Kimihito."

Instantly, his warm smile washed Yukiko's fears away, thought it didn't cure her shyness. "I-I'm Yukiko." She responded. "um…I think I met you at the mall the other day, right?"

Kimihito paused as he thought back. "Oh yeah, I remember now. And you're one of Roxas's classmates? What a coincidence."

"Y-Yeah, I keep telling myself that." Yukiko said as she noticed Roxas was already on his feet. The bluish slime was still clinging onto his midsection but was looking at her with curious emerald eyes.

Roxas extended his hand over to Yukiko before he pulled her to her feet.

"Well…Sorry you got slimed by Suu." Kimihito said when he noticed both were covered in the bluish slime.

"It's…alright." Yukiko said, but her cloths were feeling a little uncomfortable now.

"I'll tell you what, why don't you take a bath and I can wash your cloths in the meantime. I can probably find you some spare cloths somewhere around here." Kimihito said with a smile.

"Darling? weren't you helping me with this?" Miia's voice said from the kitchen.

"Oh, yeah! I was helping Miia with a few dishes. Why don't you come into the kitchen and meet everyone?" Kimihito said as he turned to walked to the kitchen.

"Um…" She said shyly. Kimihito seemed like a very nice person, but she was still a bit shy around new people. She lightly grasped Roxas's arm. "S-Sure."

Roxas and Yukiko walked down the hallway to the kitchen while Suu looked up at the Yeti girl curiously. She tugged on Roxas's sleeve to get his attention.

"W-Who?"

Roxas was a bit impressed she learned a new word. It seemed Kimihito had also taught her some things while he was away.

"Oh, yeah. Suu, this is Yukiko." Roxas said as he gestured to the Yeti girl.

"Y-Yuki…" Suu started, trying to form the words in her mouth.

Yukiko found the slime super adorable. It looked like a little girl around their age. This was the first time she ever encountered a slime before. In fact, it surprised her that it took this shape.

"Nice to meet you Suu." Yukiko said with a warm smile.

"N-Nice to M-Meet…" Suu started, but ended up trailing off. She cocked her head cutely.

"She's still learning." Roxas said, resting a hand on Suu's head.

"Yeah, I noticed. This is so cool! I never thought I would see a slime." Yukiko said as she poked Suu's side with her finger, causing the slime to giggle.

"Yuki-Yukiko?" Suu murmured

Yukiko's eyes lit up as she squealed. "She's so CUTE!" she said before wrapping the slime up in a hug. Unfortunately, that just lead to her getting even more slime on her cloths.

Interestingly enough, the slime reciprocated the hug with a smile on her face. "Yukiko." She said.

"That's right! That's my name Suu, good job!" Yukiko said as she spun the slime around in her arms.

Roxas felt a smile on his face too, but before he could say anything, a loud scream echoed through the house.

"AAAUUUGHHGH! I PUT THE HEAT ON TOO HIGH"

"MIIA HOLD ON! LET ME HELP!"

Yukiko, Suu, and Roxas paused for a moment before they rushed to the kitchen. Upon entering, they saw a roaring fire coming from the pan Miia was holding. Kimihito was about to rush over to help, but Miia stopped him.

"No, I got it. I have to be a good marriage candidate."

"Just put the fire out!"

Miia instantly slammed a lid over the pan with her tail and extinguished the flame.

"That's why I'm cooking dinner today. A good wife is a good cook too, you know."

Both Roxas's and Yukiko's eyes were wide as they watched the events unfold. Suu just watched on curiously while still attacked to Yukiko. Slowly, Yukiko leaned over to Roxas and cupped her hand over her mouth for a whisper. "What's going on?"

Roxas was a bit curious as to why she was whispering, but decided to do so as well. "I don't have a clue." Roxas whispered back.

"And then, when you come home from work, I'll have a nice warm dinner ready for you. And I will say, Welcome home Darling! Do you want Dinner? Or a Bath, or maybe you want…Me!" Miia gushed as she started to dream out her fantasy right in front of them. "And then you'll say, "I'll have you for dinner in the bath….Oh Darling, you're so horny." She finished as her snake tail wagged back and forth.

The reactions were all different from Roxas, Yukiko, Suu, and Kimihito.

Roxas and Suu was just confused, nuf said.

Kimihito entire face turned a bright shade of red following Miia's words. "Miia! We have guests here!" he said, flailing his arms around while looking between Yukiko and Miia a few times.

Yukiko's face supported a large blush at Miia's words. She knew that Lamia were extremely passionate, but she had never seen someone this bold before. She leaned over to Roxas again. "Does this happen a lot?"

Roxas thought back to when Miia had one of her fantasies including him and Yukiko at the mall. "All the time." He responded.

"And then…and then…" Miia started before her entire body seemed to freeze.

Kimihito looked at her curiously. "Miia?"

For absolutely no reason at all, Miia flopped to the ground. The motion sudden caused the scalding to drop down with her before landing painfully on her hands.

"AAAAUUGGGHGHHG"

Instantly, Kimihito was over her, gently grasping her burnt hands and inspecting the damage. He turned to Roxas. "Roxas! There's a first aid kit in the bathroom. Get it quick please!"

"On it." Roxas said as he rushed to the bathroom.

Not sure what she should do, Yukiko followed behind him.

Suu on the other hand detached herself from Yukiko and walked over the to the whimpering Lamia on the ground. She gazed curiously at the burns on her hands before slowly reaching down and grasping them with her own.

Kimihito noticed this action and raised an eyebrow. "Suu?"

Instantly, Suu plunged the hands into her stomach, completely submerging them in her cool slime.

Instantly, Miia gave a sigh of relief as the cold sensation washed over her hands. "Ahhh. Thanks Suu." She said with a warm smile.

Suu simply smiled back before she heard Roxas and Yukiko return with the first aid kit. Suu glanced over her shoulder at them.

Roxas handed the First aid kit to Kimihito, who proceeded to use the ointment within and apply it to her hands. Then he taped her hands with medical tape. However, when he was done, Miia wordlessly left the kitchen and went up to her room.

Being a big curious, Kimihito turned to Roxas and Yukiko. "Thanks for your help. I don't know what caused her to space out like that."

"…Don't worry about it."

Kimihito smiled at both of them before he glanced up the stairs from which Miia retreated to. "Say, Yukiko, why don't you take a bath while I wash your cloths. We'll just borrow some from Miia and Papi for you to wear in the meantime."

Yukiko glanced down at her slime covered cloth before he looked up at Kimihito. "Are you sure? I don't want to be an inconvenience."

Kimihito chuckled at her politeness. "It's not a problem at all. I am used to washing cloths by now." He said as he turned to Roxas. "You as well. Get changed and give me your cloths to wash."

"Ok."

* * *

After the chaotic scenario died down, Yukiko was amazed to find herself sitting in an enormous bathtub. This was the first time she had ever visited someone else's house, and the least thing she expected was to be sitting in their bathtub while the host washed her school uniform. But then again, she was really grateful for that because it was the only one she had.

Slowly, she sank down into the bath, relishing the feeling of warm water gushing over her darkly tanned skin. It was amazing because her place only had a shower. Not that it was a bad thing, but baths were much more relaxing.

"Hey Yukiko?" Kimihito's muffled voice said through the bath door.

Yukiko gave a small eep as she looked over at the door. She could see his shadow on the other side of the glass door. Luckily it was extremely steamy though. She shrunk down a little into the bath, just in case. "Y-Yes?"

"I'll leave a towel and a spare set of cloths out here for you."

Yukiko felt a smile cross her face. This human was so thoughtful and kind. "Thank you!"

"No problem, and again, sorry you got slimed. I should've been watching."

"It's fine! Suu's still learning, right?"

"Yeah, she's got a lot to learn, That's for sure." Kimihito said with a chuckle as he walked out of the bathroom, the door closing with a click behind him.

Again, she felt herself relax in the water. Even though her first experience in this house was unusually chaotic, she found herself loving this place already. It was just one thing after another.

Roxas had changed out of his slimed cloths before he simply wiped off the residual slime with a towel. He then simply got dressed in some cleaner cloths and sat down at his desk. By the sound of her boots, Suu was also in the bedroom with him.

Pulling out his and Yukiko's notebook, he began to copy down notes for the days he missed in class. However, he suddenly felt Suu's raincoat sleeves wrap around his neck form behind. A cold feeling pressed against the side of his face as well.

"Suu?" Suu murmured curiously as she looked down at what he was writing.

"Just writing some notes Suu." Roxas said as his pencil glided across the pages. "I gotta teach you this stuff too, right?"

"Suu." Suu responded as he continued to write down notes. Thought he did notice Suu's main feeler crawl up the side of his head before resting on the crown on his skull. That instant, he felt something really strange, as if he gained some kind of weird clarity.

He stopped writing for a moment as he looked over at the slime girl. She met his gaze before giving a smile.

"Is that you Suu?" He asked, not expecting an answer.

"Y-Ye…" Suu started before her face courted in concentration.

Roxas frowned a little as he shrugged it off. She stayed there with her arms around his neck, chin resting on his shoulder, and feeler on the top of his head as he continued copying down Yukiko's notes. He didn't give much thought as to what Suu was doing.

It was a bit later that Yukiko entered the room. She was dressed in one of Miia's shirts as well as one of her Skirts. Both articles of clothing were a little big for her because her breast size wasn't quite as large as Miia's. That also left her without a bra, much to her embarrassment. However, the Panties fit decently well, though maybe a bit small because they came from Papi.

Upon entering the room, she noticed Roxas taking notes with Suu hanging off his back. It was incredibly cute if she were being honest. But looking around, she noticed that his room was rather plain. The walls were completely bare and he didn't even have any bookshelves. All in all, this not what she expected a boy's room to be like.

Roxas looked over his shoulder to see Yukiko standing there. He gestured to his notebook. "I got a lot of it copied down."

"Well that was quick. I didn't think I was in the bath for that long." Yukiko said as she walked over to them.

"Well…Should we get started on the homework?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah sure." She said before she smiled over at Suu. "Do you want to join us?"

The slime frantically nodded her head as she plastered a smile on her face.

The next couple hours consisted of Roxas, Yukiko, and Suu sitting at his desk and going over the problems that were due the next day for classes. That, and Roxas copying down the remainder of Yukiko's notes for all the days he missed class. There was a lot of questions he had because he missed the lectures. Lucky for him though, Yukiko was more than happy to answer any questions he had. She was an enormous help and Roxas was sure that without her, figuring out these problems would have been impossible. Yukiko was very smart. Roxas would through his ideas around as well when they were stumped so they could come to an answer, but the Yeti Liminal did most of the work.

Suu was sitting between them silently. However, her main feeler split into two before each one rested on the crowns of Roxas's and Yukiko's head. Yukiko found it a little bizarre, but didn't give it much thought.

After a while, most of the problems were done and they decided to do a little light studying to prepare for their cultural exchange paper. Yukiko was lying on her back on his bed with the Liminal book open in front of her face. "So, what about the different species and Subspecies of Ogre?"

"Hmm" Roxas hummed as he sat back in his chair. "Let's see…I think they were Ogre, Oni, and troll?"

"Almost, you're missing one." Yukiko said with a yawn.

"…Gigantes?"

"Bingo! I'm impressed Roxas. You're remembering quite a bit from just one night of studying." Yukiko said as closed the book and rolled over to face him. He was leaning back on his chair. Suu had changed positions and was now sitting on his lap with her main feeler still attached to the crown of his head. It was pretty cute, but it also made her a little jealous.

Eventually he turned to face her as well, giving a small yawn as well. "I think we studied enough, don't you?"

 _AUGH_

Suddenly, an erotically sharp gasp echoed through the wall, catching both Yukiko's and Roxas's attention. Yukiko perked an eyebrow as she rested her chin on her palm. "What was that?"

"…don't know."

 _AUGH!_

"…"

The moan echoed through the walls as if they were paper thin. Instantly, Yukiko recognized that kind of sound the second time. Her face flushed a bit. "Um…Who's room is that coming from?"

"I think it might be Miia's. Why?"

"Um…No reason." Yukiko said, a blush crossing her face again.

 _MPH! AUGH!_

The blush on her face increased to the point where she looked like a tomato. "W-Why don't we continue s-Studying."

Roxas raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in behavior. "Are you alright? Your face is really red."

"I'm-"

 _GASP AUGH DARLING_

"I'm ok" She squeaked, obviously embarrassed by what she was hearing.

"…Man, what are they doing?" Roxas asked curiously as he looked over at the door. "It's going to be hard to focus if they keep making that much noise."

 _DARLING, GASP BE GENTLE_

Steam was literally rolling off Yukiko's head as the strange noises continued.

Roxas frowned a little as he gently maneuvered Suu off his lap and stood from his seat. The slime remover her feeler before looking up at him curiously.

"W-Where are you going?" Yukiko asked, barely able to concentrate on her question.

"I'm going to see what they're doing. They're making a lot of noise."

Instantly, Yukiko blanched. She didn't know what Roxas was thinking by going to see what they were doing. So, she launched off the bed and tackled Roxas to the ground. "NO! I think there fine, just leave them alone." She said, pinning the Nobody beneath her.

"Suu?" Suu said curiously as she cocked her head.

"…Why?" Roxas asked. "Do you know what they're doing in there?"

"Um…You don't?"

"No."

Yukiko blinked a few times as she looked down at the boy underneath her. Her face flushed a little, but his words made her curious about something. Suddenly, a thought struck her, one that had to do with his amnesia.

"Um…Roxas, do you know about…about…" Yukiko started, her face turning a bright shade of red again.

"About what?"

 _DARLING! AUGH! NOT THE TIP!_

"About…M-Making…" At this point, Yukiko's eyes were swirling in embarrassment. She couldn't believe she was asking this question, but she had to know. "Making love?"

Roxas cocked his head in confusion. "Making…Love? What does that mean?"

"Makin-Making Love?" Suu copied, also curious.

"…"

Again, Yukiko was floored. The amnesia this boy experienced must have completely wiped his memory of those kinds of things as well.

"What is it?" Roxas asked.

Immediately, Yukiko sat up and waved her hands frantically while straddling him. "No-don't worry about it. It's nothing, I was just curious."

Now Roxas was really curious. The way she was acting was seriously strange. "Now you got me curious. What is…Making love?"

The combination of his question and the fact that Yukiko noticed how she was intimately straddling his hips was a bit too much for her brain to process. Steam started to roll from her forehead and gushed out of her ears before she suddenly collapsed backwards onto the floor.

"um…Yukiko?"

"Uwwaawaa." Yukiko mumbled as her eyes rolled around.

* * *

Roxas exited his room with Suu, leaving Yukiko resting on his bed because she had been completely unresponsive since she collapsed. The slime was silently clinging to his arm as they walked in the direction of the kitchen. Yukiko's actions were far beyond his understanding. He had no idea what caused her to act that way.

"Making…Making love." Suu said with a look of concentration. She looked up at Roxas with a look that clearly said she was confused.

"…I don't know either Suu."

Eventually, they made it down stairs to the kitchen where he saw a very unusual sight.

Kimihito was cooking as usual, but his head was turned in a very strange angle. Miia was sitting at the table, reading through a plethora of cook books.

"Why can't I cook anymore?" She whined.

"You have to study first, then you can try again." Kimihito said as he stirred in a large pot of curry. Whatever he was making smelled really good.

Roxas and Suu walked up to the kitchen before standing right behind his host. Kimihito noticed and glanced down at their curious looks. "If it's about my neck, don't ask."

"…What were you doing earlier? I could hear Miia…gasping? Squealing?" Roxas asked anyway, trying to find the right word for the noises he heard.

Instantly, Miia gave an embarrassed eep before her face turned bright red. "Y-You heard that?"

Roxas turned to look over at her. "Yeah, Yukiko, Suu and I could hear everything."

Miia's face instantly turned another shade of red before she dove her nose into the center of the book.

Kimihito's face was also flushed with embarrassment. "Y-Yukiko could hear that too? Did she say anything?"

"Hmmm." Roxas hummed, trying to remember. "Well, she did mention something about making love. Was that what you were doing?"

"Making love!" Suu Mimicked cheerfully.

A gush of steam erupted out of Miia's ears as she fell out of her chair. Kimihito wasn't faring any batter because he was right in the middle of tasting his curry. A stream of hot liquid spewed forth from his lips when he heard Roxas's question.

"What? No!" He exclaimed. "Miia was shedding her skin and needed help. I was just helping her!"

"Darling! That's embarrassing!" Miia exclaimed, flailing her arms around frantically.

"So, what is making love then?" Roxas asked. "Yukiko didn't explain it. She was about to before her face got all red and she fainted."

Again, Kimihito's face flared up in a brilliant shade of red. Miia's eyes widened in shock when she heard the question. Did he really just ask that? He didn't know what sex was. That thought was nearly impossible for her to comprehend because Lamia were taught from a very early age about sex.

"You-You can't be serious right Roxas?" She asked.

"I am…So what is it?" Roxas said as he looked over at her.

That moment, an extremely determined look entered Miia's eyes. She puffed out her chest proudly and made it her mission to explain in very detailed fashion about the birds and the bees to this poor, unfortunate, boy.

"You see Roxas, when a male and a female love each other, they get alone and get nake…"

"OK, enough of that!" Kimihito said, interrupting what looked to be a very detailed explanation of sex from Miia. If there was one thing he knew, it was that he didn't want Miia to explain the concept of Sex to this innocent kid and an equally innocent slime. "I will tell you later, but for now, why don't you get everyone for dinner. It's nearly ready."

"…"

"…Ok." Roxas said simply as he left the room. Suu stayed behind though as she sat down at the table.

Roxas found it was weird how Kimihito changed the subject like that, almost as if he were trying to hide something. It was almost the same reaction Yukiko had. What were they trying to hide?

Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he walked up to Centorea's room first and knocked on the door.

There was a pause for a moment before trotting could be heard from the other side of the door. Slowly, it opened to reveal the Centore standing there with a very sick look on her face.

"…Dinner's almost ready."

"Um, I appreciate you getting me, but I must…Pass for tonight." She said, her face turning a light shade of green.

"Are you ok?"

"…No. A word of advice young man. Never eat Miia's cooking. Papi and I learned the hard way." She said as she closed the door.

The next stop was papi's room, but true to what Centorea said, the energetic harpy was also very ill looking. "Papi not hungry." She said through the door, not even opening it.

Last was Yukiko, who was still lying on his bed when he entered his room. However, she was just coming too.

"W-What happened?" Yukiko said as she massaged her head.

"…Don't know. You fainted all of a sudden."

Yukiko's face courted in confusion before she remembered what happened just before she fainted. Her face flushed as she shyly looked over at the confused Nobody. The entire situation was completely embarrassing.

"You ok? Your face is red again."

"No-Its nothing." Yukiko said quickly.

"…Alright. Well, Kimihito almost has dinner ready, so he sent me to get everyone. Oh, by the way, those noises we heard earlier…" Roxas started.

Yukiko's face flushed again as she remembered the erotic noises.

"That was Kimihito helping Miia shed her skin. Apparently, she's a bit sensitive."

Yukiko felt her mouth drop open. That incredibly awkward situation was an entire misunderstanding on her part? Kimihito was not having sex with Miia, but helping her shed? She almost felt ashamed for assuming such, but what else was she supposed to think with those noises going on?

"You coming?"

Yukiko glanced up to see Roxas standing in the entrance of the room looking back at her.

"For what?"

"Dinner of course. Kimihito made enough for everyone." Roxas said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm invited?"

"Um…Yeah? He told me to get you."

Yukiko felt another warm smile cross her face as she leaped off the bed with great enthusiasm. "AWESOME! I get to have dinner with Roxas!" She said as she rushed over to him, nearly tackling him once again. Roxas couldn't help but let a tiny chuckle escape his mouth for the first time. It actually surprised him because that was the first time he had ever laughed in his life.

* * *

It was a small crowd that sat around the dinner table today. Because Miia's terrible cooking put Papi and Centorea out of commission, the only ones there were Miia, Kimihito, Suu, Roxas, and Yukiko.

"Well, dig in before it gets cold." Kimihito said as he gestured to the large assortment of food on the table.

Yukiko's mouth was already watering in anticipation of such a fest. She quickly loaded her plate up before going to town.

"UMM! It's so good!" she exclaimed after the first bite of curry rice.

Kimihito scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Glad you like it."

"So, Yukiko, Tell us about yourself?" Miia said as she also took a bite from her own plate. She had a little trouble because of her hands thought.

"Hmm" Yukiko said with the spoon in her mouth. "There isn't much to say. I grew up in the alps mountain ranges along with my parents and a couple younger sisters."

"You have sisters?" Miia squealed.

"Yeah, two of them. Their names are Yukimi and Kukiko. Yukimi is 12 and Kukiko is 6. They keep my parents busy, that's for sure." Yukiko said as she took another bite of curry.

"Oh! That's adorable. I would love to meet them one day."

"I'm sure they will come down to visit soon. But the alps are so far away, and my parents are always busy with the resort."

"Your parents own a resort in the alps?" Kimihito asked curiously.

"Yeah! It's one of the best host spring/ski resorts up there." Yukiko exclaimed proudly.

"Wow. That's so cool! We need to go there sometime! Can we Darling?" Miia asked, her tale waving with excitement.

"Maybe someday, if our budget allows." Kimihito said, thinking about all the financial costs that came with taking care of so many Liminal.

"That reminds me." Yukiko said as she glanced over at Roxas, who was eating silently. "Roxas mentioned that you cover all the expenses around here, right?"

Kimihito gave a small sigh as he nodded. "We manage though."

"But what about the government reimbursement?"

Kimihito froze, slowly looking up into Yukiko's eyes with a very creepy look. "C-Care to repeat that?"

"Yeah! The Government reimbursement program. It covered all Liminal food bills, House repairs and remolding, and also lodging and travel expenses. How do you not know this?" She asked curiously.

Kimihito's head slowly turned to Miia as he wordlessly waited for an explanation. Instantly her face flushed with embarrassment. "I thought you already knew that."

 _THUMP_

Kimihito slammed his head into the table, shaking the entire kitchen in the process. "So much money…So much money gone…" He murmured in despair. "When all this time I could have been reimbursed."

Suddenly, he stood from the table dramatically as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "You guys continue eating. I need to make a very important phone call to a very lazy coordinator." He said with the most forced smile Roxas had ever seen in his life. The turned and exited the kitchen, leaving a very awkward silence.

"What was that all about?" Yukiko asked.

"Darling's probably calling Smith to see why she never told him about the reimbursement." Miia responded.

"…You know you could have told him too." Roxas said as he casually took a bite of food.

"Quiet you! I don't need darling to be annoyed with me."

"You don't need my help to make that happen." Roxas said back, caused Miia to puff out her cheeks and Yukiko to laugh.

Suu was sitting there quietly because she finished her meal a long time ago. Her food was slowly digesting in her gelatinous body as she gazed around at the dinner conversation.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable dinner. Never in all the time she spent here in Tokyo had Yukiko enjoyed a meal so much. This was the first time she had a dinner conversation since she was last with her family back in the alps. It was heartwarming and hilarious. Epically when Kimihito came storming back into the room with a victorious smile on his face. Of course, Miia asked what happened and Kimihito said he wouldn't make Smith coffee for an entire week.

The entire table had a good laugh after that, knowing how much Smith loved Kimihito's coffee. Even Roxas gave a small smile.

This was what she dreamed her host family would be like…

But unfortunately, that wasn't the case for her.

* * *

Kimihito gave a large yawn as he stood from the couch. He, Miia, Roxas, and Yukiko were playing a round of "after dinner Mario cart" to let their food settle. Yukiko was pretty bad at the game, losing to even Roxas. But she still seemed like she was enjoying herself.

Surprisingly, Suu became a master of the game already, completely beating everyone including Kimihito. It seemed Papi rounded her up for a few games during the day. But alas, there fun had to come to an end. It was already past six PM and they had to get Yukiko home before it got to dark out.

"Alright, I think it's time to get Yukiko home. You both still have school tomorrow, right?" Kimihito said as he stretched his arms to the sky.

Yukiko's demeaner dropped a little, but she had to agree.

"Hey Miia, would you mind getting Yukiko's uniform out of the dryer?"

"Of course, Darling!" Miia said as she hurried out of the room.

"And Roxas, before I forget, can you hand over the Bento box? I have to wash it before I go to sleep."

"Oh Yeah! You made that delicious lunch, right?" Yukiko said, her eyes wide and sparkling.

"um…Yeah I did. Did Roxas let you have some?"

"He did. It was so good!"

"…Didn't you bring you own lunch?"

"Well…I did, but my host doesn't buy much food."

"Your host…you mean that guy we saw at the mall, right?"

Yukiko's eyes drooped even further. "Y-yeah, that's him."

Kimihito's eyes narrowed a little when he recalled the memory of her host. He didn't seem like a nice guy, but it shocked him to learn that he wasn't buying much food for Yukiko.

"Well, I'll tell you what. How about I make a lunch just for you from now on, how does that sound?"

Yukiko's eyes widened immensely. "Y-You will? No, that's ok. I don't want to be a burden."

Kimihito shook his head as he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "If there's one thing I hate, it's seeing someone go hungry. Besides, I can't thank you enough for telling be about the reimbursement." he said with a wink.

Yukiko's eyes got big and watery as she gave a cute sniffle. She suddenly lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his midsection and burying her face into his chest. "Thank you, big bro!" she said happily.

Kimihito chuckled as he patted her head. "Big bro?"

"Yeah!" She said as she looked up at him. "Is it alright if I call you that? You're like the big brother I never had."

He laughed again as he nodded. "Sure, and remember, you are always welcome in this house." He said causing her to squeal in delight. She couldn't believe how many friends she made in the past couple days.

"Darling, I got the..." Miia started as she entered the living room. She then caught a glimpse of Yukiko clinging onto her darling with a happy smile on her face. There was a pregnant pause before she erupted.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY DARLING!"

* * *

The cool night air was a pleasant touch to Roxas and Yukiko's face as they exited the train station. The sun was setting and the moon was slowly taking its place as king of the sky, luckily not a full moon though. It wasn't far from the train station before Yukiko lead Roxas to a nearby apartment complex. It was a bit rundown if Roxas were being honest with himself. They were standing in front of a specific apartment before Yukiko turned to the Nobody with a soft smile.

"Thank you so much for today Roxas. I had so much fun."

"…Anytime. We can do homework together tomorrow if you want."

Yukiko couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked down slightly. She couldn't believe that in the past couple days, her life had improved so much. She made so many friends, and even had a couple more people to meet in the house that she hadn't met yet.

And it was all thanks to one special encounter at the mall. Looking up at Roxas, her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"…Are you ok?" Roxas asked, noticing a tear slide down her cheek.

"Ah…Yeah, I'm fine, just…really happy." Yukiko said as she frantically cleared here eye. "You're sure you won't mind me coming over?"

"Not at all. Kimihito said your always welcome, didn't he?" Roxas said with a small smile.

Yukiko giggled. "Yeah, he did." She said as she as she stretched out her arms and enveloped the Nobody once again, this time burying her face into his shoulder. "Thank you, Roxas."

Roxas didn't know what made him do it. It was almost as if his body acted on its own accord but he felt his arms slowly encircle around her waist. He couldn't stop himself, it was almost like a natural reaction to the situation.

Yukiko blushed a bit when she felt Roxas's hand on her lower back, but closed her eyes and gave a very satisfied sigh before she slowly released him. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said as she turned to the door.

"Yeah…See ya later." Roxas responded as he watched walk through the door to her apartment, shutting it behind her.

Roxas turned around and began to walk away, listening to the cool night wind gently shift the grass and leaves on the trees. This had been the craziest day he ever had in his life…Well, considering how old he was, that wasn't too impressive. He never thought he would be able to experience so much in the span of a single day. But there was also so much confusion, mostly about how he reacted when certain things happened. He…felt something.

Roxas shook his head as he stopped in the middle of the road. "That's supposed to be impossible." He said out loud. "Nobodies don't feel anything. They don't exist…Right?"

His only response was the dead silence of the night. After all, who would answer him?

Though, the more time he spent in this place, the more he began to wonder if what Xemnas said was really true. The only thing that Xemnas taught them was that they don't exist, but he never gave a reason why. He never really explained what his plan was, nor how it would help the nobodies gain hearts. Everyone just simply followed his orders without question.

But was it really true? Were nobodies without hearts? Did they really feel nothing?

Giving a sigh, Roxas continued to walk down the street before he found himself passing his school building. It surprised him a bit because he didn't realize how close Yukiko lived to the place. He took a moment to gaze up at the enormous building. This was where he was going to spend most of his time, the place that was going to teach him more about this society. And also, he had a feeling this was where he was going to learn the most about the heart.

Suddenly, Roxas noticed someone sitting with her back pressed against the surrounding wall of the school. He cocked his head in interest because she looked a little familiar with her pitch-black skin and hair. But what was she doing here? School ended a very long time ago, didn't it?

As he approached, he noticed she was tapping on the screen of her phone with one of her claws, a look of extreme annoyance on her face. When he was about 10 feet away, her ears instantly perked up before she glanced over at him.

They shared an awkward stare for a second before the Liminal girl went back to her phone. "What are you doing out here?" she asked, not even looking at him.

"…I was walking Yukiko home." Roxas responded simply. "what about you? Didn't school end a while ago?"

"None of your business…" The Liminal girl responded as she glanced over at him. "You sure you didn't leave her out in the middle of nowhere so she could get deported."

"…No." Roxas said, wondering why she would think that. Why in the world would he do something like that?

"Sure…" The girl said as she turned off her phone and stored it away in her bag. "Why'd you need to walk her home so late for anyway?"

"We were doing homework together…why are you so curious?" Roxas asked, getting a little annoyed with all her questions when she didn't bother to answer his single one.

"I'm just wondering how you're going to hurt her in the future. What, after you build up her hopes of finally having a friend, then break her heart later? That's pretty cold." The Liminal said in an extremely condescending voice.

"…Why would I do that?" Roxas said, his frown deepening.

"Because you're a human." The girl said, her eyes narrowing. "Humans are the most selfish creatures I've ever seen. They only care about hurting others. If they say hellhounds are bad, they should try living with humans."

"…Ok." Roxas said simply.

The Liminal girl could see that Roxas didn't give two shits about her words, which caused her eyes to narrow. The only enjoyment she got out of school life was to see people's reactions to what she said. You know, to get a rise out of them. But this boy seriously didn't care what she said about his race. That took all the fun out of it.

"Are you waiting for your host or something?" Roxas asked, seeing no other reason she would still be here.

"Humph!" the Hellhound huffed as she turned away from him. "Since you're being so nosy, I have a host family. The parents are out of town, so their son is supposed to pick me up."

"Where is he?"

"Who knows…" She said as she pulled open her phone again, looking at the many texts and calls she sent the dumbass man. "He was supposed to pick me up after school, but he didn't show up."

 _GROWL_

A loud rumble was heard from the Hellhound, but she didn't even look embarrassed about it.

"Are you hungry?"

"No shit Sherlock. I've been sitting here for hours. I can't leave the campus or I'll get deported."

"…Do you want me to walk you home?"

"…"

The hellhound liminal looked over at him with a deep frown. "I don't need your help." She bit angrily.

"Ok…But I have a host badge. You do need that, right?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Piss off!" She growled.

Roxas felt his annoyance spike quite a bit. He was just trying to help her, but she was making this so difficult. He was half tempted to leave her here, but considering she had bee sitting there for hours, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Folding his arms, he felt a frown cross his face. "Listen, you don't want to stay here all night, right?"

"And why do you care?"

"I don't." Roxas said flatly. "I'm just offering because I can. If you don't want my help, fine. You can stay here all night for all I care. Is that what you want?"

The Liminal girl felt her eye twitch because she was on the losing end of the stick. She couldn't go anywhere without a host and it didn't look like she was going to be picked up that night. Her options were running out. "And how do I know you won't just abandon me in the middle of the street?"

"…Why would I do that?"

"Because you're a hum-"

"Not this rant again." Roxas interrupted, feeling his annoyance double. "I don't really care how you feel about me. I don't care if you think I will abandon you. I'm simply offering to take you home, that's it. If you agree or not, I couldn't care less."

The Hellhound felt her teeth grind a little at his words. Truthfully, she was really tired of sitting there and wanted to go home. But then again if she agreed, it would mean she would be putting her trust in a human. It pissed her off just thinking about taking his offer.

"So, what which is it?" Roxas asked, his patience wearing thin.

Slowly, The Hellhound stood up and brushed off her skirt. "You try to get me deported, I will gut you."

"I'd like to see you try." Roxas said as he rolled his eyes. "Can I at least get your name?"

"…It's Pyra."

* * *

Surprisingly, Pyra lead Roxas to the same train station he would take to get home. It was much less crowded then when he and Yukiko got on it earlier. They were even able to sit down, but Pyra chose to sit as far away from him as possible. Though if she thought she was hurting his delicate little feelings, she was dead wrong.

Roxas seriously didn't care. He didn't even know why he was helping her, but it just seemed like he should. He had a badge, and she needed to get home. That was the extent of his thought process. Besides, it seemed like she lived pretty close to where he did, so it wasn't that far out of the way.

Heck, even her train stop was the one he was supposed to get off at. Again, they walked in silence as Pyra lead Roxas through the street before she stopped in front of a decent looking house. There was a single light on in one of the windows on the second floor. A silhouette of an obese man sitting at his computer could easily be seen.

Roxas noticed Pyra growling in annoyance.

"So, the fat bastard was too busy playing his games huh?"

"…That guy?" Roxas gestured to the shadow in the window.

Pyra gave a sigh as she nodded. "That moron is an old fart living in his parents' house. He has some kind of cat-girl fetish so I think he begged his parents to sign up for the exchange program." She said as she gave a dark chuckle. "Imagine his surprise when he got me instead."

"…Fetish?"

Pyra ignored him as she continued her rant. "The parents are fine, but obviously, they didn't expect someone like me either. And their old asshole son has tried to get me deported in the past so he can get his cat-girl Liminal."

"He tried in the past?"

"Oh yeah. You should have seen it. He cried to his parents like a little bitch when I deliberately ripped up on of his cosplay's that he asked me to wear. I can only guess the creepy bastard was saving it for the cat-girl he wanted." She said before she realized something. She turned to Roxas with her arms folded. "And why am I telling you this?"

"…Beat me."

"Well I don't either, so why don't you hit the road already. Oh, and one more thing…" She said before she reached out and grabbed Roxas's shirt and pulled him toward her until their faces were inches apart. She was glaring into his eyes with her red irises. "This doesn't change anything, got it?" She finished as she shoved him away.

Roxas simply brushed off his shirt. "Fine." He said before turning away from the Hellhound Liminal and walking down the street.

Again, Pyra expected him to be angry. Angry that she showed zero appreciation for his troubles. Angry that she did nothing but say unkind words to him. And yet, he simply didn't care. All her harsh words just bounced off him.

But what also impressed her was the fact that the didn't even show an ounce of fear, especially when she tried to act hostile toward him. He simply didn't care.

"Hmmm…Interesting." Pyra said as she turned to the door of the house. She was about to enter before she paused and glanced over her shoulder again. Only his silhouette was visible now before it slowly disappeared into the distance. She was curious why she told him all those things about one of her hosts. It was as if she couldn't help but blurt out her annoyances. But why would she do that? She never ranted to anyone. Well…not that she had anyone that would listen anyway.

Shaking her head, she decided to worry about that later. Right now, she needed to have a very…violent talk with one of her hosts.

* * *

It was finally the end of another day and Roxas was in his room, staring at his laptop monitor. He glanced over at the kiddy pool in his room to notice Suu reading one of his books. She was being careful not to get the pages soaked by keeping the book out of the pool and turning the pages gently with her main feeler. She was also resting her chin on the edge of the pool as she read.

He found it cute, but he turned back to his monitor. There was something he wanted to do before he called it a night. He remembered Kimihito saying that writing his dreams down would maybe help him remember something familiar. Maybe that was true, because his dreams were becoming very vivid about the adventures of a boy named Sora. But why was he having dreams about this boy? Did it hold some kind of key to his past? You know…before he became a nobody?

So, stretching his fingers, Roxas began to type.

"I've been having these weird thoughts lately…Like is any of this for real, or not?"

* * *

 _Slowly Roxas stood from the grassy ground, a completely blank look in his face. It looked as if he weren't even capable of thought as he stood completely still, starring at the ground._

 _A pillar of darkness formed in front of him, allowing a hooded figure to walk through before it closed behind him. The figure approached Roxas._

 _"_ _You seek answers." The figure stated, causing Roxas to nod._

 _The figure waved his hand in front of Roxas's face, a series of letters appearing out of thin air._

 _SORA_

 _Roxas barely looked up at the word before his gaze once again fell to the grass._

 _"_ _You feel nothing…Nothing is real" The figure said. "I can give you purpose."_

 _Roxas glanced up again with dead eyes, but gave a tiny nod._

 _The figure then waved his hand again, causing the letters to whirl around Roxas with intense speed. Only a couple seconds passed before the figure thrust his hand forward, a new letter exploding in the midst of the others._

 _"_ _Roxas" Roxas read the newly formed word._

 _"_ _That is right, the new you." The figure said as grinned down at Roxas. His face could be seen through his hood how. His yellow eyes were full of mirth._

Yukiko gasped awake before looking around frantically at her room. That dream had been so vivid, so clear that it was almost like she was there. But after she took a few calming breaths, she slumped down back on her bed.

"Whew…It was just a dream." She said as she closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

* * *

 **Authors Note: There you go! Another chapter out and published. This was fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it. Now a few of you were asking when I would incorporate more KH stuff, but that won't be until later. Yes, he will practice with his Keyblade and stuff like that, but the KH universe will not come till later.**

 **And, why did Yukiko see a memory of Roxas? You might be curious, but to bad! You don't get to know yet. HAHAHAHA!**

 **So, how did you like this chapter? Please leave your thoughts in a review! Thanks!**

 **Until then!**


	7. Chapter 7: Day 14

**Authors Note: Hey everyone. Glad you liked the last chapter. I know of lot of you are itching for more KH stuff, so this chapter is going to have a little bit. You must realize that Roxas has only been on this world for a few days, so please be patient while I build the world, introduce the characters, and get the story rolling. Here is another chapter for ya'll.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank slate

Chapter 7

Day 14

"So, has there been any information regarding Roxas?" Xemnas asked in his usual slow methodical voice.

The other members of the organization were sitting at their usual seats in the meeting room.

"Unfortunately, not. Since his disappearance six days ago, we haven't managed to find anything regarding his location." Saix said as he shot a glare in Axel's direction.

"Hmmm" Xemnas hummed in thought. "This poses a problem to our plans. Without the wielder of the Keyblade, our cause is all but lost."

"If someone hadn't been so careless with our asset, we wouldn't be in this situation." Xaldin said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Yeah, Yeah." Axel responded, waving his hand through the air carelessly. "We go through this every time. I lost the Keyblade master, our plan is boned because of me, blah blah blah. Give it a rest will ya?"

"It seems you don't understand the severity of your carelessness Axel." Xemnas said, casting his yellow eyes over in the fire Nobody's direction.

"Without him, the puppet won't be able to copy his abilities. Without him, we lose the chance to have the Keyblade under our complete control." Vexen said.

"Indeed." Xemnas responded.

"look! How was I supposed to know he would be that clueless? What do you want me to do about it?"

"There is nothing you can do about it. You truly have the worst luck." Luxord commented as he flipped a card through the air.

"You will accept your punishment Axel." Xemnas said, catching the red-haired nobody's attention. "We cannot afford to lose the puppet because it's our last hope to gain complete control over the Keyblade. Your punishment is to take the Xion to castle oblivion and relive Marluxia from his post. You will watch over the castle with Xion while the rest of us search for Roxas."

"Oi Oi! What about that morons plan to try to overthrow the organization? That's the whole reason you sent him to Castle oblivion, right?" Demyx said.

"Of course, but while he is foolish, he is also very powerful. If I can…convince him to give up his ploy, he will continue to be a valuable addition to organization 13's goal."

"I'm not on board with this. Marluxia is a loose cannon. He will strike the instant you have your back turned." Saix said.

Xemnas turned to him with his eyebrow raised. "And you assume he is a match for me?"

"No, of course not. But as you said, he is powerful and will only gain in power the longer he lives."

"I will be the one to worry about that."

"Hang on! You're sending me to that boring ass castle with the mute little puppet? Hello no!" Axel said as he slammed his hands on the arm rest.

"Be silent Axel and be grateful you got off easy. You are also a valuable member of organization 13 which is the only reason we didn't turn you into a dusk." Xemnas said coldly.

Axel slumped back into his seat again grudgingly. "When do I have to go?"

"Immediately. Tell Marluxia that I have an urgent mission for him and he needs to return at once."

"Man, this blows. That castle is so freakin boring."

"Enough of your wining. Franky, I would have thrown you straight into the twilight with the rest of the useless nobodies." Saix growled.

"Humph!" Axel huffed as he turned away from them, obviously annoyed at the new situation.

* * *

 _The insane battle between Ansem and Sora just finished. The World of Chaos exploded in a fiery fury, leaving Ansem floating there in the realm of darkness. Sora, Donald, and goofy had just fought for their lives trying to defeat this incredibly powerful enemy. And once again, they managed to defy all odds._

 _"_ _It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness." Ansem said as he turned to the enormous door in the distance, stretching forth his hand. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness!"_

 _The door slowly began to open allowing a flood of darkness to spill out like a title wave._

 _"_ _Supreme Darkness!"_

 _"_ _You're wrong!" Sora said from behind Ansem. "I know now, without a doubt! Kingdom hearts…_

 _IS LIGHT!"_

 _Light erupted from the doorway, completely engulfing Ansem in its rays. He cringed at its touch, as if he couldn't bare the light as it grazed his skin._

 _"_ _What…Light? But why?"_

 _Soon, the light overtook Ansem as he burst into particles of light._

 _"_ _Where's Kairi! I thought she was with you!" Sora asked frantically._

 _Riku stood there with his back to his best friend. "The door…has opened."_

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _The door is open Sora! Now we can go to the outside world."_

 _"_ _What are you talking about? We gotta find Kairi!"_

 _"_ _Kairi's coming with us." Riku retorted quickly. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parent again. There's no turning back." He said somberly before his face steeled over in determination. "But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"_

 _Riku then looked at his best friend before stretching forth his hand._

 _"_ _Riku." Sora said before he noticed Riku was fearlessly standing on a platform of darkness. It didn't even faze him. He just wordlessly stood there with his hand outreached to Sora. The darkness began to crawl up his body like rapidly growing vines._

 _Sora rushed forward before he too was caught in the darkness. He extended his hand out to Riku, but couldn't reach before the darkness overtook them both._

 _It was pitch black, darker than the darkest night. Sora felt as if his entire being was consumed the never-ending blackness._

 _Suddenly, a light appeared out of nowhere. It overcame the darkness before Sora found himself standing there alone. Riku was gone, but there was something grasped in Sora's hand._

 _A Giant key._

 _"_ _Keyblade." A voice whispered to him. "Keyblade."_

* * *

Roxas's slowly opened his eyes as the dream came to an end. Again, he had been having non-stop dreams about the boy named Sora for the past few nights now. And every time, it was a jumbled mess of confusion. The dreams seemed to seemed to jump back and forth, but it was difficult to tell when each event took place.

Glancing over at the clock on his nightstand, Roxas noticed it was about three in the morning. It was early, but he was wide awake now. There was no way he was going to get back to sleep after that experience.

"Keyblade." Roxas said as he stretched forth his hand, allowing the kingdom key to shimmer into existence. "The door to light…Kingdom hearts."

He remembered Xemnas saying something about Kingdom hearts and how it was supposed to help the nobodies. But again, he didn't see how? How was Kingdom hearts supposed to help them?

Giving a sigh, Roxas allowed the Keyblade to vanish. He glanced down at the kiddy pool near his bed to see Suu laying there. She was not much more than a puddle because it didn't look like she could keep her form while she slept. Her raincoat simply floated there in the pool of slime.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get back to sleep, Roxas decided he wanted to take a walk and ponder his newest dream. As quietly as he could, he stepped over the kiddy pool and grabbed his organization coat out of his closet. He massaged the fabric between his fingers as let his mind wonder back to organization 13. It had been about 5 days since he arrived in this world and no one from the organization had shown up to get him yet.

But then again, he was ok with that. This world was far more interesting than doing some missions for the Organization. Even if they wanted him to come back, Roxas wasn't sure he would. There were to many things he wanted to experience here, so many friends he didn't want to leave, and to many questions he didn't want unanswered. There was no way he could leave now.

Roxas threw the coat over his body before walking out of the room. He really had a lot to think about with this new dream.

It was pitch black outside. Not a soul could be seen or heard as Roxas wandered through the streets of the city. The cool night air was a pleasant touch, gently caressing his skin as he let his mind ponder the sequence of dreams he'd been experiencing night after night.

The curious boy named Sora and his ability to wield the Keyblade much like how Roxas could, that was on the forefront of his mind. As far as he knew, Roxas was the only one who could use the Keyblade, so how was this Sora able to do so as well?

"Who are you…Sora?" Roxas asked out loud. He knew that these dreams were not just dreams anymore. They were much to vivid and much to realistic. And besides, what are the chances he would have continuous dreams like this. And, what did they have to do with him? Why was he dreaming about these things?

There were way too many questions to ask as the Nobody walked down the street.

Deciding to push those questions aside, Roxas was also curious about a couple other things. When he watched the battle of Sora and his party against Ansem and the world of chaos, Sora displayed some serious skill in magical ability. Since both he and Sora could use the Keyblade, who's to say that Roxas wouldn't be able to use magic as well? He was no stranger to magic because a majority of the organization members could use it, but Roxas himself had never tried before.

Looking around, Roxas knew that testing his theory here would probably not be a good idea. It was much to enclosed because of the buildings. Testing out magic here would only cause destruction and panic. He needed to go somewhere else before he could test his idea.

As he continued to wonder around the city, Roxas remembered that Kimihito mentioned a forest just off the outskirts of the city. From what he knew, not many people went there because of the major pollution problem. But for him, that would probably be the best place to practice not only magic, but also with the Keyblade as well. He had been slacking the past few days in order to adapt to this new world, but now that everything was settled, it was time to train again.

* * *

Surprisingly, the forest wasn't that far away from the city. He could make it in decent time if he sprinted all the way up the mountains. But it wasn't long before he found himself surrounded by tall trees…and mountains of garbage that carless people seemed to throw into this forest.

But now that he found himself alone, Roxas raised his hand and allowed the kingdom key to appear. He stared at the weapon that was identical to Sora's. How was it that he and Sora could both use the Keyblade? This couldn't be a coincidence.

Then again, he had to wonder though. How did Sora cast spells? Surly it was more than just pointing at something and saying a word, right? What power did Sora draw from when he cast spells? In fact, with other members of the organization, what power did they draw from? Like Axels fire, or Vixen's ice? What did they use?

Thinking back to when Axel was teaching him about the corridor of darkness, Roxas remembered him saying that Nobodies could manipulate the corridors by controlling the darkness. Then was magic the same way? Was it drawn in a similar way as the darkness?

Deciding to test his thoughts, Roxas slowly closed his eyes and tried to feel for an energy that might be within him. If other members of the organization could manipulate magic, and if Sora could as well, then what was stopping him?

The cool breeze gently licked his hair as he continued to stand there, searching for any hit of energy that wasn't darkness.

Suddenly, he felt a tiny flicker of something with himself. He instantly focused on that flicker and tried to bring it forward. It was a slow process, like trying to coax out a scared cat out from behind a dumpster. However, with a little more pulling, tiny flicker turned into a roaring fire as magical energy began to spread through his entire body. He opened his eyes, expecting to find himself caught on fire based on the way he was feeling, but nothing seemed different.

However, he had to test it. He had to know if what he was doing wasn't just a waste of time. He needed to see if this was the same kind of magic that Sora used.

Roxas looked around for a target to test the first spell he remembered Sora using. He didn't want to damage the forest itself, but there was a ton of junk that was volunteering to be his target. Finding his vision landing on a pile of scrap wood, Roxas pointed his Keyblade at it.

"Fire."

Instantly, a small fireball erupted from the tip of his Keyblade, sailing through the air before slamming into the pile of scrap. The pile instantly exploded, sending burning wood flying in all directions. The kick from the spell nearly caused Roxas's Keyblade to fly out of his grasp, forcing him to grab ahold with both hands.

He paused for a moment as he looked around as the burning bits of wood. The power of that single spell already caused the wood to smolder down into a pile of ash. Luckily, it didn't damage the trees or other parts of the forest.

"Wow," Roxas murmured to himself as he focused on the magic coursing through his being. As expected, there was a bit less than before, but still more than enough to practice with.

Pointing at another pile of trash, Roxas tried another spell he saw Sora perform. "Blizzard!"

I glowing blue ice projectile shot from the Keyblade before smashing into the pile of junk. Upon contact, the entire pile Instantly froze into a block of ice.

Again, Roxas felt a small drain on his magic when he performed the spell, but he still had plenty left he wanted to try. So, now feeling a bit excited, Roxas lifted his Keyblade into the air.

"Thunder."

 _BOOM_

A blast of thunder fell from the sky, impacting the block of ice containing the garbage. The entire block completely exploded, the shockwave sending Roxas flying off his feet before slamming him onto the ground. He felt a major portion of his magic wither away after that.

"…Ouch." Roxas murmured as he sat up. He looked at the damage to only see a black scorch mark in place of the ice. The lightning completely obliterated it. That spell was powerful, so powerful that Roxas could feel a major dent in his magic.

"W-What are you."

Roxas instantly jumped to his feet before whipping around, facing whoever said that. He was standing in his usual Keyblade stance. "Who's there!" He growled as he glared into the trees

"Don't a-attack me." An exhausted voice said from behind a large tree.

Roxas cocked and eyebrow as he slowly got out of his stance. The voice sounded very quiet and kinda…raspy. He approached the tree before walking around it. Seeing what was on the other side made his eyes widen a bit.

It was a female Liminal sitting on the ground with her back against the tree. However, this was probably one of the most unique Liminal he had seen yet. She looked half human, half tree. She looked young, maybe about is age. Her legs and arms had a layer of dark green bark on them, and her hair was made of what looked to be tree leaves…and she was completely naked. She also had light blue eyes that were staring at him with slight fear.

"…what are you?" Roxas asked curiously with his head cocked.

"…I asked you first." The creature responded. It sounded as if she were exerting great effort to talk.

"I'm Roxas." Roxas said as he crouched down in front of the strange Liminal.

"I didn't…ask your name. I asked what you…are." The Liminal said with slight annoyance.

Roxas frowned a bit. "None of your business."

"I-It is when your…harming my forest." The Liminal shot back while trying to look angry. However, it was more like a mild glare because of how tired she looked.

"Your forest?"

"Yes! I am Kii, the Dryad. I watch over the forest…and protect it from ha-harm." She forced out.

"Kii…" Roxas said, letting the name roll off his tongue. He noticed she was trying to stand, but was having a very hard time doing so. "Are you ok?"

"…Do I look ok?" Kii asked with a growl. "Humans make a regular habit of dumping their garbage in the…forest. I recently ran into something really…toxic and it's affecting me badly."

"…So, you're sick?"

"That's…one way to p-put it. I don't know what they threw into my forest this time, but it's been wearing me down the past couple days."

Roxas frowned when he saw her try to stand again, only to fall back down to the ground. She seemed to weak and very tired. Focusing on his magic again, Roxas tried to determine how much he had left before he was out. He still had quite a bit left after the thunder spell, but he knew the last one he wanted to try would probably exert the remainder of his reserve. However, this one was particularly interesting because Sora used it many times when Ansem was on the verge of beating him.

"Hold still." Roxas said, pointing his Keyblade at the dryad.

Kii looked up to see the tip of the weapon. She felt a little spike of fear in her chest. "What are you d-doing?"

"Cure." Roxas said, feeling the rest of his magic store deplete.

Instantly, a bright green light encompassed the Dryad. Her eyes widened in panic as she attempted to scramble away from Roxas, however it was more like a crawl than anything. She made it a couple feet before the green light faded away. When she noticed this, she paused and clenched her hands a few times, trying to see if there was something wrong.

"What did you do to me?" She demanded.

"…do you feel better?" Roxas asked, feeling a little tired after using magic for the first time.

Kii blinked as she slowly sat up. She then pushed herself to her feet effortlessly before surveying her body for any sighs of the illness.

"What happened?" She asked in confusion. "What was that?"

"…A cure spell…I think." Roxas responded simply, letting the Keyblade vanish. "I was practicing my other spells before you came along."

"…Spells? I've never seen someone who can use them. What kind of Liminal are you?" She asked with a suspicious glare. "You look completely human."

"I didn't even know I could use spells. As for what Liminal I am…who knows."

Again, Kii frowned at the nobody. "Why did you help me?" she asked as she took a couple steps toward him, looking him up and down.

Roxas paused, looking over the plant-like Liminal. She was standing in front of him with her bark-covered arms folded. "Because I wanted to see if I could perform the spell correctly."

"You're using my forest to train? Why?"

"You're asking a lot of questions." Roxas said with a bit of irritation. "I just wanted to confirm something. As for training…it's a habit I guess."

"hmm." Kii hummed as she thought back on his spells. He completely obliterated a massive pile of trash in a single instant. And his cure spell was extremely useful, especially if she got polluted again. "This is my forest. If you wish to use it for a place to train, you have to do something for me."

Roxas cocked an eyebrow in her direction. "What do you want?"

"I want you to help me clean up my forest. Your spells will be useful. In return, I will help you train to become stronger." She said.

"…How are you supposed to help me?" Roxas asked, genuinely curious. This Liminal didn't look like it could do anything to help…

Suddenly, Roxas heard a whishing sound coming from his left. He instantly leaped to the side right before a massive branch slammed into the ground where he was standing. He looked up at the dryad in horror.

"I can control the forest." Kii said, vines wiping around her violently. A large tree stump judged from the ground beneath her, lifting her into the air. "Being surrounded my nature, no one can stand against the power of a Dryad."

She thrust her hand forward, causing a branch to spring forth from a nearby tree, attempting to impale Roxas. He ducked and rolled to the side, summoning the Keyblade to his hand again. He was forced to jump into the air to avoid two vines and they wiped under his feet.

Drawing back the Keyblade, Roxas threw it. "Strike Raid!"

The Keyblade whizzed through he airs at Kii, but a wall of wood sprang up in front of her, deflected the weapon before another sharp branch shot at Roxas. He barely avoided it as he cartwheeled through the air and landed on his feet, the Keyblade appearing in his hand again. He was already breathing hard. However, that caused him to smile a little.

"…You proved your point."

Kii lowered herself to the ground again before she was eye level with him. The look on her face was slightly smug. "Do we have an accord?"

"Yeah…We do."

* * *

It was a few hours later that Roxas was finally walking home. Kii had dragged him around the forest, showing him some of the more horrendous dumping sites. She told him he would need to help her dispose of it as well as cleanse her when she became too polluted. However, he had to explain that the number of spells he could use was limited. So, they came to a compromise of Roxas doing what he could with his magic, and then Kii would help him do physical training.

If Roxas were being honest, Kii looked like she was enjoying herself too much when she trained with him. Most of her attacks would kill a normal human, but since he was a bit more resistant, he would survive. Still, that didn't stop her from pummeling him a few times. Being surrounded by a forest put him at a serious disadvantage.

It was about nine in the morning now. Luckily it was the weekend, so there wasn't any school. Yukiko was kind enough to let him know that there weren't going to be any classes on Saturday and Sunday. He had mixed feeling about having those days off because he was enjoying school so far. He enjoyed the things he learned and he enjoyed hanging out with Yukiko.

She was always so happy to see him, especially when he brought her a freshly made lunch from Kimihito. The first time he delivered it to her, she literally tackled him to the ground and almost broke his back with her inhuman Yeti strength.

After school, Yukiko would always come over and they would do homework together. Kimihito always welcomed her and insisted she stay for dinner every time. Having been reimbursed by the government, he had absolutely no qualms with feeding all the Liminal in his house.

Centorea and Papi had taken to her as well. Centorea was very impressed with how polite and considerate Yukiko was, while Papi was just happy to have another playmate.

However, today was different. There was no school, and Roxas had the entire day to himself now. Honestly, he never had that much time before because he was always training with the organization. Now he had a full day to do whatever he wanted, and he didn't know what to do with it.

Giving a tired sigh, he opened the door to Kimihito's house and walked through. Surprisingly, everyone was awake at this point. Kimihito was happily making breakfast as usual, Centorea was polishing her sword, Miia was staring at Kimihito lovingly like she usually would, and Papi and Suu were playing video games in the front room.

Upon entering the kitchen, Kimihito looked over his shoulder at him. "Oh, you're back. Didn't hear you leave this morning."

"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I took a walk," Roxas said.

"You were gone pretty early…and why are you so dirty?" Centorea asked, resting her sword on the table.

Roxas looked down at his coat, noticing that it was filthy from the long morning. All the times Kii slapped him around and pummeled him into the ground was definitely showing on his cloths. "I was training."

"Training?"

"…yeah."

"Training for what?" Centorea asked, clearly curious.

"…I don't know…I just feel like I need to." He said, though that was half true. He trained because it was more of a habit than anything.

Centorea nodded. "I can understand that. I also practice with my sword even though it's not necessary in this day and age."

A pair of blue arms circled around his neck from behind, causing Roxas to look over his shoulder. Suu's smiling face was grinning back at him.

"You w-were gone."

Roxas reached over his shoulder, patting the slime on the head. "Yeah, I had some things I needed to think about."

"Suu w-was w-worr-worried."

"…ok." Roxas said, not sure how he should respond to that. He didn't know just leaving would make anyone worry about him. This world was far from what he considered dangerous.

"Well, Breakfast is almost ready Roxas." Kimihito said as he turned to the nobody. "So why don't you go and take a bath and get ready for today."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Is something going on?"

"We are going out to have some fun." Kimihito said with a smile.

Breakfast was a bit more vocal today because everyone was excited. Today was Saturday and Kimihito agreed that he would take them all out to explore the city. Of course, Miia, Centorea, and Papi were up to their usual bickering about who would secure Kimihito's attention, but that was nothing new.

While they fought in the background, Kimihito turned to Roxas. "So, is there any place in particular you want to see?"

"…Not really." Roxas said, causing Kimihito to laugh awkwardly.

"I guess I should have expected that answer. We need to find you a hobby."

"I like writing." Roxas said as he looked over at the older man. "I've been writing down my dreams every night."

"Anything familiar yet?"

"…Well…most of it seems familiar somehow, but nothing really stand out." Roxas said back, taking a bit of egg.

"Well…That's a shame. Hopefully you'll remember something soon." Kimihito commented, causing Roxas to nod. "So, what's Yukiko doing today?"

Roxas chewed his food before he shrugged. "Don't know. She mentioned that she's left at home a lot because her host is busy. So, I think she is still at her house."

Kimihito had a small grin on his face as an idea popped into his head. Roxas may not know what he wanted to do, but Yukiko would probably have some suggestions. "Why don't you invite her to come with us?"

Roxas looked over him. "…Is that alright?"

"Of course, it is. She's practically family now, and I think the others would be happy to have her along," he said as he turned his attention to the bickering girls. "Right?"

"You say something Darling?" Miia asked, breaking the argument between the three Liminal.

"Exactly, they won't mind at all," Kimihito said with a smile.

"…Ok,"

* * *

Suu was happily walking next to Roxas as they made their way to Yukiko's place. Kimihito decided to meet up with Roxas later because the girls were literally dragging him from place to place. There were so many things they wanted to see that he didn't have it in his heart to make them wait. So, he gave Roxas a bit of Yen, gave him a time and place to meet up, and sent him on his way. Suu decided to tag along with Roxas because she had yet to see any place outside of the house.

Speaking of her, Suu was getting a lot of attention, especially on the train ride. She sat right next to Roxas, humming a tune with a smile on her face. Everyone was looking at her very curiously. Though Roxas couldn't blame them because this was probably the first time any of them had seen a slime before. That, and the fact she was only dressed in a rain coat could have been another factor.

As they exited the train, she was gently holding his hand with one of her feelers while skipping beside him. Luckily though, the culture exchange bills didn't really apply to her because she was a slime, so officers didn't stop them every chance they got.

Eventually, they made it to Yukiko's apartment complex. Suu hummed curiously as he looked at the group of rundown buildings before he looked up at Roxas.

"This is where Yukiko lives." Roxas said to the slime.

"Yukiko?"

Roxas nodded, impressed that Suu didn't stutter once. Her speech had been improving so much after such a small amount of time. Every time Roxas and Yukiko would to homework, Suu always included herself. She always watched them and even found out how to ask question. It was amazing to witness her ability to learn.

Roxas approached Yukiko's apartment door before knocking.

There was a bit of a pause before footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door. Soon, the door swung open, revealing a familiar figure of Yukiko. Her face was courted in confusion for a brief second before a smile spread across her lips.

Roxas took a moment to realize what she was wearing…or rather, what she wasn't. She was dressed in a white fur bikini with a blue scarf. It was probably the oddest and most revealing clothing he had ever seen.

He felt his heart beat a little faster, causing a tiny rush of blood to his cheeks. This new feeling completely caught him off guard.

"Roxas?" Yukiko asked in confusion before glancing down at the slime. "And Suu? What are you guys doing here?"

Her question shook him from his stupor as he cleared his throat.

"Kimihito is taking everyone out to have some fun. We were wondering if you wanted to come too."

Yukiko's eyes widened as a massive smile crossed her face "Are-are you KIDDING ME? Of COURSE, I do!" She exclaimed. "Just wait out here, I'm gonna get changed really quick."

Roxas nodded before Yukiko slammed the door in their faces. By the sound of her scrambling footsteps through the apartment, he could tell she was extremely excited. However, his mind went back to that tiny new feeling he felt when he saw Yukiko. It was completely new and very unfamiliar. However, along with Yukiko, the feeling was gone now.

"Weird." Roxas said, causing Suu to look up at him, her feeling forming a question mark.

It didn't take long before they could hear Yukiko's footsteps approaching the door. When she emerged again, she was wearing a light grey sweater with the sleeves pulled up to her elbow, just before the fur started on her arms. She also had on the same blue scarf with the snowflake pattern and a pair of black workout shorts that halted about mid-thigh, showing off the rest of her tanned legs before the white fir appeared. All in all, she looked cute.

Yukiko rushed out the door and locked it behind her. The then turned to Roxas and Suu before glomping them both. "Sorry for the wait. My family's traditional cloths aren't really accepted here as casual clothing."

"…You mean what you were wearing earlier?"

"Yep!" She said before tugging on his arm. "C'mon! Let's go!"

* * *

Roxas, Yukiko, and Suu found themselves in the mall again, exploring the different shops that allowed Liminal. Roxas told Yukiko that he and Kimihito had a meetup time around 1:00 PM in the middle of the mall, and considering it was only 11:30, they had over an hour to kill. So, they spent the time visiting different places Yukiko wanted to see, but never had the chance until now.

"That one next." She said, pointing to another fashion store. There was a sign that said "All Liminal welcome" on the side, so they knew it was ok to go in. Once inside, Yukiko's eyes sparkled at the different assortment of cloths. She steered clear of pants and long sleeved shirts though, for obvious reasons. But the skirts, shorts, and short-sleeve shirts were on her radar.

"How does this look?" Yukiko asked as she held up the shirt in front of her.

"…Fine." Roxas said, but it was kind of obvious he didn't really care.

"Muu! Roxas, c'mon! Throw me a bone here." She said before she turned to Suu. "What about you? What do you think?"

"Suu?"

Yukiko gave a small sigh as she put the shirt back. "You two are no help at all. Don't you care at all for fashion?

"Not really." Roxas responded.

"Then how did you know what to buy?" She asked. "Your cloths seem pretty stylish."

"Miia."

Yukiko laughed a bit. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"How many times do I have to tell you! My host left me here."

"And you could just be saying that. I have no choice but to report you."

"You moron! Who do you think tipped you off? My host is trying to get me deported here."

"And what evidence do you have to support that claim?"

Roxas and Yukiko looked just outside the store to see a police officer standing in front of a Liminal. The Liminal had black skin and equally black hair.

"Hey, isn't that Pyra?" Yukiko asked.

"yeah, it is."

"I wonder what's going on?"

"For the last time, how am I supposed to get evidence. He ran off like a complete asshole?" Pyra growled, folding her arms under her chest.

"Again, that's quite an accusation." The officer replied calmly.

"Oh…" Roxas said as realization hit him. He remembered Pyra talking about how her host was trying to get her deported. Was this another attempt?

An idea formed in his mind as he started walking towards them, catching Yukiko's attention.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Roxas didn't answer as he approached the two. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

Pyra was not having a good day. It was Saturday again and she was forced to ask the fatso to take her shopping for more school supplies. She was a bit surprised he agreed so quickly, but after finding herself in this situation, she now understood why it was so easy.

She had to admit though, this was a new low for the overgrown perv. She seriously didn't know what she was supposed to do in this situation. She had no proof, and she knew the bastard wouldn't answer his phone. There was nothing she could do.

"She's with us."

Instantly, Pyra and the officer's head turned to the new person standing there. He was holding out one of the host badges they gave to human students at her school. Looking up, she instantly recognized who he was.

"Roxas?" She asked, mildly confused.

The officer looked at the kid before his eyes narrowed. "Are you her host?"

"…Will this suffice? I'm one of her classmates." Roxas responded, ignoring the officers question.

The officer looked at the badge and it was indeed authentic. "She said her host left her here. She wasn't with you originally, so that means she was wondering around on her own."

"…And where's the evidence?" Roxas calmly replied.

The officer felt his eyes narrowing a bit. It was true he didn't have any way to prove his claim beside his word alone. And he knew that wasn't enough. So there was nothing he could do about it because this kid had a host badge. It was a well-known rule that he could host other Liminal species that attended his school with it.

"Well played kid." The officer growled before he turned to Pyra. "You got off lucky. Make sure you don't spread any more lies about your host. They sacrifice a lot to take care of you."

"Fuck off." Pyra growled at the man.

The officer huffed as he walked away, leaving Roxas, Pyra, Yukiko, and Suu standing there in an awkward silence. Roxas wordlessly slipped the badge back into his wallet as he turned to the Hellhound.

"Another attempt?"

Pyra felt her eye twitching. "I had it under control."

"…Sure, you did."

Pyra rounded on his, fixing him with a glare. "What game are you playing Roxas? Why did you help me?"

"Because I could." Roxas said simply as he turned to Yukiko and Suu, who were looking on in complete confusion. "Where are we going next?"

"Hey, I'm not done talking to you!" Pyra seethed. "People don't just help others because they can. That's not the way the world works."

"Why not?"

"Because people always want something in return. So, what do you want?" Pyra asked.

Roxas gave a sigh as he turned to her, looking her dead in the eye. "I want nothing from you, so quit complaining." He said with a bit of irritation in his voice.

Pyra was also irritated. She really didn't get this boy at all. His actions were strange, but his reasoning was so simple. It didn't make any sense, and that irritated her because she was usually good at reading people.

"Roxas, what's going on? How do you know Pyra?" Yukiko asked, glancing between Roxas and the Hellhound a few times.

Pyra glanced over at the Yeti. This was the first time she noticed her standing there. But not only that, she also noticed Suu standing next to Roxas as well. She was peering up at her with a curious gaze.

"What in God's name is that?" Pyra asked, pointing to the slime.

"That's Suu." Roxas responded, patting the slime girl on the head.

"Is that supposed to be a slime? I've never seen one before." Pyra inquired, forgetting about her irritation for a moment.

"Apparently, they're rare."

Pyra watched at the slime wrapped her main feeler around his arm, a gentle smile on her face. It was kinda amazing to see honestly. She had never seen anything like it before.

"Roxas! You didn't answer my question." Yukiko said, her face puffing out in an adorable way.

"Oh, right. I met Pyra on my first day. She gave me directions to the headmaster's office."

Pyra waited for Roxas to tell Yukiko how much of a bitch she was to him, but he didn't say anything else.

"Is that it?" Yukiko asked suspiciously.

Not liking the fact that she was being ignored, Pyra spoke up. "No, he decided to be a white knight and walk me home after my host forgot to pick me up." Pyra said, an extremely condescending tone in her voice.

"He did? Why?" Yukiko asked.

"Because my host is a jackass." Pyra hissed. "Speaking of which, just take me home. I've had enough human exposure for one day."

Roxas flipped open his phone and looked at the time. I was about an hour before he was supposed to meet up with Kimihito and the others for lunch. There was no way he was going to walk Pyra home and make it back in that time.

"No."

Pyra narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean no?"

"No." Roxas said as he put his phone back. "We're meeting Kimihito in an hour and we're not done looking around."

"Then what am I supposed to do? If you haven't noticed, I can't go home on my own!" Pyra growled.

"Not my problem. You can stick with us and I can take you home after we meet up with Kimihito."

"So what, I'm your prisoner now?" Pyra said angrily.

"…Your words, not mine." Roxas said as he turned back to Yukiko. "Where to next?"

"Um…" Yukiko said as she nervously looked at the fuming hellhound. "It's fine. If she wants to go home, we can do that."

Pyra felt her anger die down a little when she noticed Yukiko trying to quell the tension. She knew that the Yeti girl was always very timid, like she didn't get out much either. Not to mention she was bullied a bit more than other Liminal in the school because she was way to kind to retaliate. And that made her an easy target.

But now she was here in the mall, enjoying her time with this Roxas kid. And now Pyra was suggesting they end there fun and take her home.

Now she felt like a jerk.

Giving a frustrated sigh, Pyra placed her paws on her hips. "Alright fine, I'll follow you around…but I need a favor."

"What?" Roxas asked.

"I need a few things. It would be awfully nice of you if we could make a few pit stops while I'm stuck with you guys." She said sarcastically.

"T-That sounds fair, right Roxas?" Yukiko said quickly.

"…Alright."

* * *

It was a much different atmosphere as Roxas, Suu, Yukiko, and Pyra explored the mall. Yukiko tried to maintain a cheerful attitude and even attempted to include Pyra in the conversation, but the Hellhound was deliberately making it difficult.

Luckily, Roxas didn't seem to care that she was glaring holes in the back of his head the whole time. She always walked a few paces behind them, giving the impression that she was some kind of stalker.

In another attempt to lighten the mood, Yukiko dragged Roxas to another clothing store. Surprisingly, the results were humorous…and a little sad for the hellhound as she watched Yukiko try on a few different styles, only for Roxas to give the same unhelpful answer. This boy didn't have the slightest clue when it came to fashion.

"C'mon Roxas! You gotta say something more than just "its fine."" Yukiko whined.

"…Sorry."

"Muu!"

Pyra's eye twitched. She suspected that there was something off about Roxas. He was an odd character, but she was really beginning to feel sorry for Yukiko. Both the slime and Roxas were pretty much useless. It wasn't until Yukiko picked out another shirt that Pyra had enough.

"Alright, I can't take it anymore." Pyra murmured, catching everyone's attention. "The shirt doesn't go well with your hair, but the shorts don't match."

Yukiko's eyes widened immensely as she looked over at the hellhound. "you-You like this stuff?"

"I'm a girl, aren't I?" Pyra asked sarcastically. "As much as I don't like humans, they are very creative when it comes to fashion. Besides, this human and Suu are about as useful as a yuki-onna in the pits of hell."

"…I have a name, you know." Roxas said, clearly irritated.

Pyra ignored him as she picked out a light blue skirt to match the shirt. "Try this one instead. It matches your eyes."

Yukiko couldn't keep the smile off her face as she snatched the shirt away. "Thanks Pyra!" She said before disappearing into the changing room.

Pyra and Roxas stood there in an awkward silence while Suu was off wandering around the store, staring at the small selection of drinks. Pyra glanced over at the nobody with her arms crossed. "You know, when a girl is showing off some cloths, you're supposed to complement them."

"…Really?" Roxas asked.

Pyra frowned over at the nobody. At first, she though he was being a smart-ass, but he genuinely looked sincere with his question.

"Yes, really. It's common sense."

"…Ok." Roxas responded back just as Yukiko opened the door.

"How does this one look."

"It's cute." Roxas said flatly before Pyra had the chance to say anything.

Yukiko paused for a second before Roxas's words echoed through her mind. Even though he said it in the flattest manner ever, her face still lit up in a bright shade of red as she let out a small eep. "R-Really?"

"…yeah."

"Muu! I wish I could buy it then!" she whined. "But I really don't have any money."

Roxas felt a little bad seeing her downcast expression. He was about to pull out his wallet when someone tapped on his shoulder. He looked over to see the angry shop owner standing there with his arms crossed.

"Is that thing with you?" He asked, thumbing over his shoulder.

Roxas glanced over and noticed Suu there. She was sitting in the middle of a small pile of empty bottles with the most innocent smile on her face. One of her feelers was emptying out the contents of the last bottle.

"…Yes."

"I hope you are going to pay for all those."

Roxas looked flatly at the innocent slime. She stood from the ground and pranced over to him, still smiling happily. Giving a sigh, he pulled out all the Yen Kimihito had given him and gave it to the shop owner. "I guess I am."

The shop owner snatched it away before counting the bills. "Be sure to purchase the drinks before drinking them in the future." He grumbled as he walked away.

Roxas again gave the slime a flat look, but the cheerful smile on her face easily melted away any irritation he had. He simply gave a small chuckle as he patted her head.

"Next time, let me know if you're thirsty." He said.

"O-Okay."

Roxas nodded as he turned to the two amused liminal. "Sorry Yukiko, I'm out of money."

Yukiko laughed. "No, don't worry about it. We're just having fun anyway. Besides," Yukiko said as she also patted Suu on the head. "It went to a good cause, right Suu?"

The slime nodded enthusiastically.

Pyra couldn't help it, she felt a small smile of amusement as she saw the interaction between Roxas, Yukiko, and Suu. They all seemed so genuine about how much they enjoyed each other's company. However, she did notice that there was something strange about Roxas. She couldn't put her paw on it, but the way he acted was way too weird.

It was later that the gang was walking down the mall in the direction of a few stores Pyra needed to visit. Roxas was walking side by side Suu, while Yukiko decided to linger back and talk with Pyra.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" She asked.

"Not much." Pyra answered. "I enjoy reading, exercising, long walks."

"Really? What kind of stuff do you read?"

"Anything with a good story." Pyra responded as she watched Suu tug on Roxas's sleeve, pointing to a nearby store with a question mark above her head. "Yukiko…" She started.

"Yes?"

"Is there…something wrong with Roxas? He seems really…odd."

Yukiko bit her lower lip. "I'm not surprised you noticed. Roxas…has amnesia."

Pyra stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide in shock. "You're kidding me."

"I'm not." Yukiko said, stopping next to her. "He doesn't remember anything past…a few weeks ago, maybe?" Yukiko mumbled, trying to remember.

Pyra felt her eyes narrow. "Bullshit! You believe that? Just how naive are you?"

Yukiko felt her eye narrow as well. "It's not bullshit! He's telling the truth! Why do you think he's lying?"

"Because he's human! Don't you get it? He's just trying to lure you into a false friendship only to dump you like some pile of worthless shit. You don't mean anything to him."

Yukiko felt a serious amount of rage at Pyra's words. Usually she didn't get angry when people made fun of her, but she hated it when people talked like that about those she cared for. "Take that back!"

"Why should I? I've seen the dark side of humanity."

"Humans can be nice too." Yukiko hissed back, losing her patience. "Besides, Roxas isn't even human. He's a Liminal."

Again, Pyra paused for a moment before she massaged her eyes in frustration. "Let me guess, he told you that as well?"

"Yeah!"

"…I really can't believe you're actually buying this. I mean look at him! He even smells human."

"s-shut up!" Yukiko snapped.

"Has he even done anything remotely inhuman? Is there any proof to justify his claim?" Pyra pressed.

"I-Um…He has a host!"

Pyra scoffed. "And who's to say he isn't in on it either? Face, it! He's lying straight to your face and you're so desperate for friends that your swallow anything he tells you, is that it?"

Yukiko felt her teeth grind together in anger. Even though Pyra had a point, there was no way Yukiko could think that Roxas or Kimihito would do that. They were so genuine, so kind.

"Shut up you Bitch!" Yukiko snapped.

Pyra growled angrily, her red eyes showing an unrestrained amount of fury. "What did you call me?"

Yukiko didn't care at all. She had hadn't been this angry in a long time. "I called you a Bitch! What're you going to do about it?"

"…You just crossed the line." Pyra said as she extended her red claws. "Humans and Liminal aren't supposed to fight, but there's nothing stopping me from beating your ass into the ground."

Now Yukiko was feeling a bit worried. She knew how strong hellhound could be. Even though Yeti's were strong too, they were no match against hellhounds when it came to strength.

Before Yukiko could react as Pyra shot at her. Pyra extended one clawed paw, aiming straight for Yukiko's face.

Yukiko instantly flinched, waiting for the paw to connect. However, something even faster grabbed Pyra by the wrist, halting the paw just inches in front of Yukiko's face.

Pyra's eyes widened as well as she felt an enormous pressure bearing down on her wrist. It felt like the bones were grinding together. She saw a hand grasping her wrist and she followed the arm before she saw a pair of very angry blue eyes glaring at her.

Roxas had caught her wrist, even faster than she could see. The look in his eyes was quite frightening and there was no mistaking it.

The boy was angry. It wasn't a false anger, but genuine fury that swelled within those cold blue orbs.

"What are you doing?" Roxas growled out.

His voice snapped Pyra out of her stupor as she gnashed her teeth at him. "Let go your asshole!" she roared as she tried to swipe at him with the other paw. However, quicker than both Yukiko and Pyra could see, Roxas snatched the other paw out of the air. His fingers constricted around her wrists with incredible force, slowly bringing the hellhound to her knees.

"Ouch! Let GO!" Pyra snapped.

"What were you going to do?" Roxas seethed angrily, applying more pressure to her wrists.

There was not many times Pyra had felt fear before, but now was one of those rare occasions. Seeing Roxas's angry glare clearly told her he wasn't going to stop until her wrists snapped like a couple toothpicks. And she couldn't do anything about it. He was way too strong. Way to strong to be…to be…

Human.

That thought came with a feeling of panic. If what Yukiko said was right and Roxas wasn't human, then the consequences of hurting her would be minimal. And to add to that, no one would really care if she got hurt.

"Stop! Your hurting me!" Pyra whimpered, finally realizing the position she was in.

"…And why should I care? You were going to hurt Yukiko, right?" Roxas said, his grip tightening a bit more, causing her to yelp in pain.

"R-Roxas, Stop!"

Instantly, Pyra felt the sweet feeling of relief as the pressure lightened a little. Roxas was looking over at Yukiko, still completely angry.

"Why?"

"You've done enough. S-She learned her lesson." Yukiko said. Honestly, she was a little afraid as well. She had never seen Roxas that angry before, and to put a hellhound on their knees was no small feat either. No human would have been able to do that. It was clear that Roxas was not lying when he said he was a liminal.

"She almost hurt you."

"I know. But its ok, she was angry." Yukiko said as she gently rested a paw on his forearm. "People do and say things they don't mean when they're angry."

Roxas paused before he finally released Pyra completely, allowing the Hellhound to scoot away from them and gently massage her sore wrists. He felt his anger die down a bit more as Yukiko gently hugged his arm to her chest.

Yukiko then turned to Pyra, who was still looking at them with wide eyes. "I'm sorry. I…I know using that word really offends any kind of canine Liminal."

"…"

Pyra was completely blown away. She didn't expect an apology from the Yeti. In fact, she was the one who started it. All Yukiko was trying to do was have a nice conversation and then she verbally attacked her and Roxas. Yet Yukiko was apologizing.

Now Pyra felt like a complete asshole.

"Humph! Why are you apologizing?" Pyra asked as she stood up. She gave a little wince because her wrists were still very sore. She then turned to Roxas. "You really aren't human, are you?"

"…I don't know what I am." Roxas said coldly.

"And you really do have amnesia it looks like." Pyra continued as she massaged her forehead. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll believe you for now."

"…I don't care."

"Roxas, be nice!" Yukiko said as if the past few minutes had never happened.

Before Roxas had the change to respond, an officer popped out of nowhere. "What's going on here?"

"It's nothing, beat it." Pyra answered quickly.

"…I received a tip that a human was hurting a liminal in this area." The officer said as he glared at the group. "Is it true?

"Hah!" Pyra laughed. "As if a puny human could hurt me. Stop wasting our time and get lost."

The officer growled again before he turned and started to walk away grumbling about rude liminal brats.

She turned back to the group, who was staring at her. "What? It's true, right? Roxas ain't no human. By the way though, how can you be a host if you're not human?"

Roxas was still a bit pissed off at Pyra, but he answered her anyway. "…It's a loophole of sorts. I was tested, and the results said I was human. But I'm much stronger than regular people."

"Yeah…I can tell." Pyra said as she massaged her wrists a bit. "You almost broke my wrists."

"…I was trying to." Roxas responded coldly.

Hearing that, Pyra grinned a little. "…I think I'm beginning to like you."

"Because I'm not human?"

"Hell yeah!" Pyra grinned without a single ounce of shame. "This changes things so much. I thought you were a little weird for a human at first, but now it all makes sense."

"If I were human, I would act the same way." Roxas said, getting a little more irritated by her words. "Besides, my host is my friend, and a human. If you have a problem with him, then I have a problem with you."

Yukiko looked at the tense atmosphere with a concerned look in her eye. Neither Roxas nor Pyra were budging on this topic. Pyra obviously had a deep hatred for humans and Roxas's host was human. Neither could see eye to eye.

"Um…Roxas's host is really nice." Yukiko squeaked, trying to cut the tension a bit.

Pyra glared over at her. "Is that so…"

"Yeah! Every time I go over and study at Roxas's house, he always very friendly and invites me to dinner. He also makes me a bento every day."

"…" Pyra's glare lightened a little as she continued to listen.

"He-He also is a host for three other Liminal, and they really like him too…You can't say all humans are bad, can you?"

"…If you've seen what I have, you might rethink that." Pyra murmured.

"Well…do you like it when people unrightfully judge you because you're a hellhound?" Yukiko asked, flinching a bit when Pyra's glare intensified.

Damn. The Yeti girl had a point, but her hatred couldn't be quelled that easily.

"Fine…I'll give him a chance." Pyra said as she turned to Roxas. "Where are we supposed to meet up with your host?"

* * *

It was a little later that everyone was waiting near the food court for Kimihito and his party to show up. Not much was said and it was again a very awkward atmosphere.

"Roxas! Over here!"

"Finally," Roxas murmured as he stood up and turned to see Miia waving to them. Papi, Centorea, and Kimihito were walking up behind them with big smiles on their face.

"Yoriki, You're here too!" Papi squealed as bolted at the Yeti for a hug. Yukiko graciously returned it while Ruffling the Harpies hair.

"You're getting better Papi. It's Yukiko." Yukiko said kindly

"oops."

Kimihito smiled at the duo before he turned to Roxas. "So, did you enjoy your time?"

"…For the most part."

Kimihito cocked an eyebrow before he noticed someone else sitting there, glaring at him. He noticed that her features were a bit more intimidating, but the only thing he found a little unsettling was her stare.

"Friend of yours?" Kimihito asked Roxas, gesturing to the hellhound.

"…Not especially."

"Classmates." Pyra said up as she stood from her spot. She walked up to Kimihito and attempted to stare him down.

Kimihito only responded with a kind smile, not showing the least bit of fear on his face. He held out his hand instead. "Nam's Kimihito. I'm Roxas's host."

Pyra stared at the hand, obviously knowing what the gesture meant, but didn't want to return it. Kimihito just gave an awkward laugh as he withdrew his hand and scratched the back of his head.

"Master, that's a hellhound." Centorea said, a frown on her face.

"A what?"

"Hellhounds, I've heard of those!" Miia piped in. "They're the ones that share the underworld with the devils, right? They are like the watchdogs of hell."

Pyra grinned a little. "You're well informed. But we also hunt down the damned that try to escape their eternal punishment." She said as she turned to Kimihito, expecting him to cower in fear. However, to her great amazement, he simply looked more interested than anything.

"That so?" he said with passing interest as. "Well, it's nice to meet you. You said you're one of Roxas's classmates?"

"…Yes." Pyra said, clearly perplexed by his strange reaction.

"Master, I would suggest you step away from her. Hellhounds are notorious for being violent. They enjoy the pain of others, which is why they play a role in torturing the dammed." Centorea said, a small glare on her face as she protectively stepped in front of her master.

Pyra felt her eyebrow twitch a bit. "Humph, at least we don't need teasers to reproduce."

Centorea glared harshly at the hellhound. "You are treading on thin ice, Hellhound."

"Alright, that's enough." Kimihito said, cutting the tension. Again, this surprised Pyra because this human wasn't the least bit bothered by what he just learned about her race. "Centorea, is that any way to act towards someone you just met?" he chided softly.

Instantly, Centorea's face grew red with embarrassment. "S-Sorry master."

Kimihito nodded as he turned to Pyra. "Sorry about that. Centorea means well, but she can be a bit overprotective."

"…Its fine. I'm used to it by now."

"Well, it shouldn't be like that. A person shouldn't be judged by what species they are, but rather by who they are." He said with a smile before Miia tugged on his arm.

"Darling, I'm hungry." She whined.

Kimihito chuckled. "Alright, let's all get something to eat." He said before he turned to Pyra. "Would you like to join us?"

Again, Pyra could not believe what she was hearing. Not only was this human unaffected by what she was, what her species did, and by the way she treated him, but he even invited her to eat with them. No one was supposed to be this nice. What game was he playing?

"…I shouldn't-"

"Nonsense! Besides, it's not coming out of my paycheck thanks to the reimbursement." Kimihito said, throwing Yukiko a wink. Yukiko only giggled in response.

Pyra was going to insist on not coming, but the human was already being dragged away by the Lamia toward one of the restaurants in the food court. She was so perplexed that she didn't even know Roxas was standing next to her with his arms folded.

"…You don't like being judged by your species, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, so?" Pyra said with a glare.

"Don't you think it's a bit hypocritical to do the same to humans?" Roxas said as he walked up behind the rest of his housemates to wait for his turn to order food.

Pyra looked at the entire group of strange people. Despite what they just learned about her race, none of them seemed to care. The atmosphere was warm and cheerful. Everyone had on a smile and wasn't judging her the least bit on what she was.

Now she was at war with herself. What Roxas said was very true, she didn't like being judged because she was a hellhound…or at least mostly hellhound. But she was doing the same thing to humans. Even Kimihito's words rang through her head about how a person should be judged based on who they are, rather than what they are.

Giving a defeated sigh, Pyra waked up behind Roxas and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "Fine, I will admit there are some RARE half-decent humans, but they are far and few in between."

Roxas simply shrugged as he turned back to the menu.

Pyra hated to admit it, but she enjoyed the rest of the day. Not only did Kimihito buy her lunch, which was one of the first times she had ever eaten out, but he also insisted that she come to the movies with them. Of course she tried to refuse, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. She had never been to a theater before and apparently neither had Yukiko. And as hard as she tried to hate the experience, she just couldn't do it.

Yukiko was super happy as she and everyone else exited the theater. She had a skip in her step as she turned to them. "That movie was so good! That scene at the airport was awesome! And I can't believe how cool Spiderman was! I loved it!" Kukiko squealed as she jumped up and down with excitement before glomping onto Roxas. "Did you like it?"

"It…It was really good." Roxas said honestly. This was also his first time attending the theater. Seeing a movie on the big screen was pretty incredible. The story was endearing…even though he felt like he should have watched the movies leading up to this one. The action was cool, and the music was amazing. This experience was a bit difficult for him to articulate with words.

"What, that's it? Wasn't that your first time being at the movies?" She asked, watching Roxas shrug. She gave an annoyed grunt as she turned to Pyra. "What did you think? Wasn't it totally awesome?"

Pyra was a bit too deep in thought about her day to give an immediate respond. However, she glanced over at the yeti before giving a small smile.

"It was good."

Yukiko dramatically threw her arms into the air. "you guys are killing me! How can I be the only one whose freaking out about this?"

"Papi love it!" Papi said enthusiastically.

"Finally, someone who understands!" Yukiko said as she and Papi dramatically embraced each other.

Everyone shared a good laugh at their antics, even Roxas.

Pyra was looking at the whole situation in complete awe. She had never seen such a warm atmosphere between human and Liminal. Everyone seemed so happy and cheerful. It was very hard for her to accept honestly.

Finally, after a bit more walking around, everyone was pooped.

"Alright, I think we've had enough fun for the day. Why don't we head home?" Kimihito said, getting a round of agreement from the crowd. He then turned to Yukiko and Pyra. "You two are more than welcome to hang out and play some games with us."

"Really? I would love too!" Yukiko said, happy to spend more time with everyone.

Pyra on the other hand was deep in though. "I'll have to pass this time." She said quietly.

Kimihito had a smile on his face, but his eyebrows scrunched slightly. "It's no problem. Anyone is welcome in my house."

"…I kinda expected you to say that…but I've got a lot on my mind. I would rather go home for the night." Pyra said honestly. The bite in her voice was all but gone now. She couldn't find a single fault with this human. All his actions were clearly kind, but more than that, they were…genuine.

And that was really messing with her outlook on humans.

Kimihito approached her, and was about to lay and hand on her shoulder, but she flinched away. He chuckled awkwardly as he scratched the back of his hand. "well, just know the doors open. If you want to hang with Roxas and study, feel free to anytime you want."

Again, she was being a jerk to the human, but he just retaliated with kindness. She had never seen a human like this before.

"…I'll keep that in mind."

"Alright." Kimihito said as he turned to Roxas. "I guess you're walking her home?"

"…Looks like it."

"Ok then, I will see you when you get home."

* * *

It was a little past 4:00PM as Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra walked in the direction of Pyra's house. Suu decided to go home with Kimihito because she was a little to dehydrated to go with them.

The hellhound was very quiet, but the atmosphere wasn't full of hostility anymore. Both Roxas and Yukiko could see she was deep in thought. Even Yukiko didn't try to spark a conversation this time.

They eventually reached her house before Pyra paused in front of the door. All three could see the light on in the second story window with the silhouette of the fat man on his computer.

"…Is that your host?" Yukiko asked.

"Unfortunately." Pyra responded, clenching her paws. "I really hate that bastard."

"…Is he the reason you hate humans so much?" Roxas asked.

Pyra chuckled a little. "Not even close. All that idiot did was confirm what I already felt about humans." She said as she turned to them. "I came here because I was curious about the difference between here and hell…But seeing how most humans treat liminal, they haven't really done much to disprove my feelings."

"And Kimihito?" Yukiko asked hopefully.

Pyra paused again as she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "I…guess I will admit there are a few decent humans out there."

A giant smile crossed Yukiko's face as she rushed at the hellhound and threw her arms around her. "See! I told ya so! Big bro is awesome!"

"…Get off me!" Pyra growled, attempting to shove the Yeti off. Eventually she was successful when Yukiko had her hug fix. She looked at the two with a very uncomfortable look in her eyes. "…I guess…I'll see you at school on Monday?"

"Yeah! Do you want to sit with us for lunch?" Yukiko asked, her eyes big and sparkly.

"…that would be nice." She said as she turned to Roxas. "You might have been right about your host, but don't let it go to your head."

Roxas felt the corners of his mouth curl up. "Noted" He said before his frown returned. "But Pyra, why do you hate humans so much?"

Pyra chuckled a bit as she approached the nobody, stopping within a few inches of his face. "That's a story for another time. Oh, before I forget…" Pyra said as she suddenly cupped his face with one paw and pricked his cheek with one of her claws. "Hellhounds don't like to be beaten by anyone. Be on your guard because next time, you'll be the one on your knees." She finished as she ran her claw down his cheek.

Roxas winced as he felt his cheek cut open. Blood started to leak, but before a single drop could fall from his face, Pyra closed the distance between them and ran her tongue along the cut.

Yukiko's eyes widened immensely as a large blush covered her face. "W-What are you DOING?"

Pyra grinned as she took a step away from the perplexed nobody. "Hellhounds love the taste of blood. And our saliva has healing properties. It really helps when you want to torture someone for long periods of time." She said as she licked her lips. "Your blood has a very exotic taste to it."

Roxas reached up and felt his cheek. His cut was completely gone.

"W-WHAT?" Yukiko blanched.

Pyra laughed at their reaction before opening the door to her house. "See you two later." She said with a wink as she closed the door.

Roxas only stood there in shock, not knowing how he was supposed to feel about what just happened. Unfortunately, Yukiko was feeling the exact same way.

* * *

 **Authors note: A lot of you guys were requesting I added a little more KH to the story, so I did. I was planning to, but some people were getting a little impatient. There will be more elements of KH in future chapters, but for the most part, this will focus more on the monster musume elements. I hope you guys don't mind.**

 **So, what did you think? Pyra finally found a human who isn't complete trash, but why does she feel that way in the first place? I gave a few hints in this chapter, but they were pretty darn vague.**

 **Also, I know someone is going to comment on it, but saying Bitch is something only canine Liminal can say, otherwise it is super offensive.**

 **What did you think? Please leave your thoughts in a review. Thanks!**

 **Until then!**


	8. Chapter 8: Day 14 & 17 & 20

**Authors Note: Thanks for those who reviewed the last chapter. It was awesome to read your comments and it really means a lot when you take the time to do so. Please continue to review the story because it makes all the difference to me. Thanks and enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 8

Day 14 & 17 & 20

Roxas seriously didn't know what to think as he walked home with Yukiko after dropping Pyra off. No one had ever done something like that to him. Again, he reached up and felt his cheek where Pyra had left a scratch. However, there was no evidence of her ever doing so.

But the way she licked his cheek after cutting it open was probably the strangest thing he ever experienced so far.

Yukiko's mind was on a similar wavelength, but it was more along the jealous side. Sure, she would hug Roxas, but Pyra straight up licked his face. She didn't know if it was an affectionate gesture like it was for most dogs, or cultural thing that hellhounds did. I mean, Hugging was a thing Yeti's liked to do, so did that mean hellhounds like to lick the blood right off someone's face.

The Yeti girl's imagination went haywire when she thought about the probability of Pyra doing that to Roxas every time they saw each other. The very thought made her extremely envious because that gesture was even more intimate than her hugs.

"Something wrong Yukiko?"

The yeti looked up at the nobody before shaking her head. "No, why?"

"…You were doing that thing with your face. You know, where you…puff it out?"

"I was?" Yukiko asked, bringing her paws to her face in embarrassment.

"Yeah…Usually when you do that, something is bothering you."

Yukiko couldn't help it as a smile spread across her lips. She skipped up to him before seizing his arm and hugging it to her chest. "Don't you worry about it." She said with a smile. She was happy Roxas was beginning to notice things like that. When she first met him, he seemed to oblivious to everything…Well he was still like that to a point, but he was improving quite a bit.

"…Ok" Roxas responded with a shrug.

Yukiko and Roxas made it back in decent time. However, when they returned to the house, they noticed something very different about it.

"…Is it me, or did your house get even bigger?" Yukiko asked as she gazed up at the house in awe.

"It isn't you." Roxas responded, realizing that the house was in fact…much bigger.

"You sure this is your house? Did we make a wrong turn?" Yukiko asked, looking around the street to see if they were in the right place.

"…No." Roxas said as he and Yukiko approached the door. The pulled it open to hear the familiar sound of the housemates battling it out with words.

"NO! Mrs. smith, couldn't there be anyone else that can take her?" Miia's distressed voice said from the living room.

Roxas and Yukiko walked through the hallway before they found themselves in the living room. Everyone was there along with Mrs. Smith.

"Now Now, is that any way to treat your new house guest." Smith said with a smile.

"House guest my ass! She just ran over darling when we were walking home. Why does that make him her host?"

"I am a bit curious about this as well Mrs. Smith." Kimihito said with his arms crossed. "I noticed you completely renovated the house again while we were gone. How did you know we wouldn't be here?"

Smith whistled innocently before she noticed Roxas and Yukiko standing in the hallway, completely oblivious as to what was going on. She instantly ignored the question as she rushed over to them.

"Honey! How have you been? I was worried about you since you never call. How was your first week of school?" She asked before she noticed Yukiko standing there. A teasing glint entered her eyes. "And I see you already have a girlfriend. You do realize that you are far too young to be having sex, you know."

Yukiko's face lit up again as steam started rolling off her head. "Mr.-Mrs. coordinator!" Yukiko squealed in embarrassment.

"…Sex?" Roxas asked curiously.

"…"

Smith paused for a second before almost facepalming. She forgot something about Roxas that was very important to remember. "…This really takes the fun out of teasing you."

"…Sorry?" Roxas said, clearly not understanding what she was getting at.

Yukiko was still trying to recover as she hung onto Roxas for support. "W-What are you doing here Mrs. Coordinator?"

"Oh nothing. It's been a while Yukiko, how's it been…And call me Smith."

"It's been…fine." She said with a little hesitation in her voice.

Smith narrowed her eyes a little at her pause. "Is that so..."

"Smith, I believe you should quit avoiding the subject at hand." Centorea said with her arms crossed under her massive bosom.

Smith sweat-dropped as she turned to the group. "As I said, I thought it would be easiest…I mean the best place to support Mero's needs."

"Mero?" Roxas asked.

"Oh, are you Roxas and Yukiko I've heard so much about?"

For the first time, Roxas and Yukiko noticed someone unfamiliar in the room. She was wearing a dark gothic Lolita-style dress and was sitting in a wheel chair. Her hair was bright pink and her eyes were a deep blue.

Yukiko and Roxas stared at her for a little while before Yukiko opened her mouth. "So pretty."

The woman giggled elegantly. "Why thank your young Yeti. I presume your Yukiko, right?"

Yukiko nodded, still in awe of Mero.

"And you're Roxas, no?"

"…Yes."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Meroune and I'm your new houseguest." She said as she gave the best curtsy she could muster while sitting. Roxas and Yukiko actually managed to get a small glance as to what was under her dress.

"You-You're a mermaid?" Yukiko asked, stars in her eyes.

"That is correct." Mero responded with a smile.

"S-SO COOL!"

"Can we please get back on the subject!" Centorea intervened, irritation clear in her voice.

"Oh, I apologize." Mero responded, throwing a smile over in the Centaur's direction.

Centorea wasn't expecting such a polite and elegant response from the Mermaid. It caused her to blush a bit in embarrassment. "I-It's alright." She said before turning to smith. "In what way is this house most suited for Mero's needs?"

Smith scratched the back of her head. "Well, when I heard you were all going out today, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to renovate the house…I mean, no one else could take her."

"…You mean to tell us that the only reason she's here is because you saw an opportunity to renovate Masters house?" Centorea asked, her eyes narrowing.

"…When you put it like that, you made it sound like I'm so lazy." Smith pouted.

"you're not?" Kimihito asked, an eyebrow raised.

Smith clutched her heart. "You wound me so!"

"Well I don't like it! I don't need any more rivals." Miia exclaimed, flailing her arms about.

"Don't be like that. Your house is already suited for Mero's needs. Are you really so heartless to turn her away now?" Smith asked, dramatically.

Miia Growled in irritation, but there were no words she could say to counter Smith. It was a complete loss for the Lamia.

"…So, we have no choice." Centorea said, her eyebrow twitching.

"I-I um…I apologize for the inconvenience." Mero said, her countenance dropping quite a bit. "I just wanted to see what the human world was like. If you can't take me, I understand. It would be tragic, bit I will endure."

The entire room got quiet as everyone glanced over at Mero. For some reason, she didn't seem that distraught about the fact that she might be kicked out. In fact, she had a bit of a creepy smile on her face when she said the word "tragic."

Giving a sigh, Kimihito scratched the back of his head. "Alright, enough already." He said, breaking up the strange atmosphere. "She's already here and the house is already renovated. No use crying about it now."

"So…that means…" Mero said hopefully, her hands clasped together in front of her chest.

Kimihito smile over at the mermaid. "Yep, welcome to the family Mero."

Mero gave a very beautiful smile. "Thank you so much kind Sir."

The rest of the day was spent getting to know Mero a bit more. Though she was a bit vague on her life, her entire countenance was very proper and polite. Of course, Yukiko asked tons of questions about life under the sea, which Mero was more than happy to answer for her. The other girls were a bit more reserved, especially Miia. She was downright annoyed there was another rival for her darling's attention.

* * *

 _"_ _Now Sora, lets close this door for good." King micky said from within Kingdom hearts._

 _"_ _Close it, QUICK" Donald exclaimed_

 _"_ _But-"_

 _"_ _Don't worry, there will always be a door to the light." Micky reassured._

 _"_ _Sora, you can trust king micky." Goofy said._

 _"_ _Now, there coming!" Riku said, a horde of Dark side heartless emerging from the depths of Kingdom Hearts._

 _"_ _Donald, Goofy, thank you." Micky said softly._

 _Sora Donald and Goofy pressed against the massive door. It started creaking to a close as Riku turned to his best friend._

 _"_ _Take care of her."_

 _Sora wordlessly nodded as he pushed against the door, Riku's smile never leaving his face as it finally shut._

 _Sora leaped away as he raised his Keyblade simultaneously with Micky. Soon, Kingdom hearts shimmered brightly before it completely disappeared into particles of light._

 _When the door was gone, Sora looked around to notice someone standing in the darkness with them. The person was instantly recognized by Sora before he started sprinting towards her. Donald reached out to stop him, but Goofy help him back. They both knew that their journey was not over yet, but they also understood that Sora knew that as well._

 _"_ _Kairi!" Sora yelled as he ran toward her._

 _"_ _Sora." She responded before the divide between them shifted suddenly._

 _Sora reached out to steady her as they made eye contact. Sora knew what was happening and that this was probably going to be the last time he was going to see his friend in a long while._

 _"_ _Kairi, remember what you said before? I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you! I promise!"_

 _"…_ _I know you will" Kairi responded as they're hands lost grip of each other. Kairi and Sora watched as the two platforms completely separated them._

* * *

 _Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light, then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves and darkness was born in their hearts._

 _The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children will rebuild the lost world._

 _It's the world we live in now, but the true light sleeps deep within the darkness. That's why the words are still scattered and divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return._

 _So, listen child, even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away._

 _Do you understand, Kairi?_

* * *

Roxas withdrew his fingers away from the keyboard as he read over the document. "Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be light." Roxas said out loud. Truthfully, he had no what he was writing most of the time, but this phrase seemed important.

"Roxas?"

Roxas turned in his chair to see Suu standing there with a confused look on her adorable face. "Yeah?"

"What…What is the light? Is it…good?"

Roxas turned back to his laptop and shrugged. "I don't know. It seems important though."

"Roxas is…Roxas has light." Suu said as she walked up behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders and resting her main feeler on the crown of his head. She closed her eyes. "I…I can feel it."

Roxas chuckled a little. "I don't know Suu. Light exists within the heart. If that's true, how can I have it?"

"I-I don't understand." Suu respond in confusion.

Roxas gave her a small smile as he turned around and patted her head. "You don't need to worry about it Suu."

* * *

"C'mon Xion, show me what you got!" Axel said as he threw a fire Chakram at her. Xion Rolled to the side before extending her hand.

"Blizzard."

The flimsy ice projectile shot at Axel, but he simply brought up his fingers and snapped. The ice burst into flames before melting to the ground. "Not good enough. You gotta do better than that, got it memorized?" Axel asked as he tapped his temple.

Xion was on her hands and knees, panting. "Y-yes." She said as she finally stood up.

Axel gave a sigh as he let the Chakrams vanish. "Man, this place blows. It's so damn boring here."

"…Sorry." Xion whispered.

Axel raised an eyebrow at the puppet before he walked over to her. "Not your fault kid. I just screwed up. We lost the Keyblade master because of me and everyone is a bit ticked off."

"…Why do we…need it?" Xion asked.

Axel scratched his head again. "Since when were you so talkative?"

Xion lowered her head, allowing the hood to obscure more of her face.

"…It's not a bad thing though. It's nice talking to someone." He assured, causing her to look up at him again. "Well…to answer your question, I guess…to collect hearts."

"Why?"

"Because…you know what, I don't really know. The boss hasn't been exactly detailed about his plan." Axel admitted. "Something about Kingdom hearts and how it's supposed to complete us.

"…How will kingdom hearts help us."

Axel frowned. "You sure are asking a lot of questions."

"…Is that bad?" Xion asked sincerely.

Axel laughed a bit. "No, its fine. I just don't have all the answers, ya know."

Xion nodded before she suddenly reached up and grasped the sides of her hood. Axel watched curiously as she lowered the fabric to reveal her face. It was the face of a young girl with black hair and blue eyes.

"Do we really need Roxas that badly?"

Axel thought about her question for a little bit. "Well, according to the boss, we need him to collect hearts. We need hearts for Kingdom hearts, got it memorized?"

Xion nodded, but another frown marred her brow. "But where do we get hearts?"

"From the heartless. When the heartless attack people, they take their hearts. Using the Keyblade, we can collect hearts from the heartless." Axel responded. He found it a bit curious he was giving these lessons to Xion. He thought for sure Saix would have done that already. "And sometimes, members of the Organization even release heartless into other words so they can create even more heartless for us to collect one day."

"…Is that…right?"

Axel scratched the back of his head. "If it's right or not, it doesn't matter. If we don't listen to Xemnas, then he will destroy us. And frankly, I'd rather live." Axel said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"…I guess." Xion said as her gaze dropped a bit. She opened her mouth again to say something to axel, but she closed it, deciding that it was probably not the best idea to say when was on her mind.

* * *

It had been a couple days since Mero joined the family. Since then, Mero had learned of Roxas's Amnesia and acted like an overbearing mother. She would go on long tangents about how tragic it was too loose your memory and how alone he must feel. However, Roxas simply said he didn't feel alone or sad about it. Still, they learned that Mero had this strange fetish for tragedy. Apparently, it was very common among mermaids.

Roxas seriously didn't understand a word she was saying. He didn't understand why she was acting this way towards him. However, after he showed no signs of needing comfort because of his Amnesia, she eventually let the matter rest.

There was brief drama between Mero and Miia for a bit, but somehow that was resolved rather quickly after Miia learned about Mero and her tragedy fetish. For the most part, everyone accepted her as part of the family now.

Currently, Roxas was walking home with Yukiko and Pyra. Ever since the incident at the mall, Pyra had been joining them for lunch. Roxas and Yukiko always walked her home after school since it was already on the way to his house. She also demanded…asked Roxas meet up at her house in the morning so he could walk her to school. Her host stopped doing that after what happened at the mall.

When Roxas asked about it, she said that she drastically reduced his entire otaku collection. Apparently, it pissed him off pretty badly and he told her he would never take her out anymore. But now that Roxas and Yukiko were walking her to and from school now, his threats were meaningless now.

But today was a little different. An important paper was due soon and Yukiko suggested they all work on it together and knock it out in one night. Pyra finally agreed to come over thanks to a serious amount of coaxing from Yukiko.

Now they were standing in front of Kimihito's house. Pyra was still a bit antsy about visiting someone else's house, but she remembered that Kimihito was pretty cool for a human. Hopefully it wasn't just for show and he really was like that. However, she was still a bit nervous.

"Maybe you should take me home. I would just slow you guys down anyway." Pyra said, turning away. She only made it half a step before Yukiko latched onto her shoulder.

"No, you don't! You finally made it this far, don't chicken out now."

"HA! Me? Chicken out? Don't kid yourself." Falling for the taunt, hook, line, and sinker.

Roxas opened the door, ignoring the playful bicker between Pyra and Yukiko. They always teased each other relentlessly ever since Pyra decided to have lunch with them every day. Of course, Pyra tried to tease Roxas as well, but his reactions were always less than satisfying.

Walking through the door, Roxas saw the light for only a moment before his entire vision was engulfed in soft darkness. He was completely confused before he felt two very strong arms constrict around his neck and literally lift him off the ground, twirling him around.

"Hey there Cutie! You never came to visit me!" her heard. It was a bit muffled though considering where his head was.

Roxas's eyes widened in horror when he finally recognized that voice. This entire situation was suddenly extremely familiar, and not in a good way.

"Let the poor kid down Tio. I don't think he's recovered from your last hug yet."

"Muu, it wasn't that bad Zombina." Tio Responded. "I mean look, he's already getting use…" She started before she noticed that she could no longer feel anyone in her grasp. She looked down at her arms to find that Roxas was completely gone. Glancing up, she saw a him all the way down the hallway that lead to the kitchen. He was peaking around the corner with a somewhat worried look on his face.

"…Tio…Don't do that." Roxas said.

"Awe! You look so cute when you make that face. It just makes me want to hug you again." She said, her arms outstretched as she approached.

Roxas bolted around the oversized Ogre, shooting straight at Yukiko and Pyra, who were perplexed at what they were seeing. He grabbed their arms. "Hurry, to my room-"

"You're not planning on running away, are you Roxas? That would hurt Tio's delicate feelings." Another familiar voice said from his side.

Looking over, he noticed a girl standing there, leaning against the wall with an amused smirk on her face.

"Doppel." Roxas said before he looked around at the three members of the Mon squad. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Awe shucks Roxas," Zombina drawled, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "We wanted to see how the squirt was doing.' Why the cold shoulder?"

"…It's only been a few days."

"um…That's not why we came. Smith invited herself and us over for dinner…Sorry." A meek voice said from the end of the hallway.

"Manako." Roxas greeted as he recognized the Monoeye.

"Hi…Roxas." Manako said timidly.

Zombina grinned. "Whelp, the gig is up. Smith wouldn't stop bragging about old' boyfriend's cooking, so we had to see if it was up to par, ya feel me?"

"…Yes." Roxas said, feeling Zombina's breast against his cheek.

"Um…Roxas, who are these people?" Yukiko asked, a small jealous frown on her face.

Zombina turned to the two standing in the doorway. "Huh, you already wrangled yourself some girlfriends. Didn't peg you as the type, but I'm impressed squirt." Zombina teased, ruffling his hair.

Yukiko's face flared up vibrantly, while Pyra just rolled her eyes. "You call that teasing? You're a few brain cells short if you think I would date him."

"…I think I'm going to like you." Zombina said, taking her arm off Roxas and extending it to Pyra. "Name's Zombina."

Pyra grinned as she grasped her hand. "Pyra." She said as she thumbed to Yukiko, who was still blushing like mad. "The tomato is Yukiko. We're Roxas's classmates."

"You're a Hellhound!" Tio said, the cheerful smile never leaving her face. "I've never seen one in person."

"We don't make it a habit to leave hell that often." Pyra commented.

"And for good reason," Doppel said, turning her dark eyes to her. "Many people are unsettled by hellhounds. Doppel by the way."

Pyra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I've gathered as much." She said as she turned to Manako. "Who's the Monoeye?"

"umm…Manako. Nice to meet you." She said shyly.

Pyra stared at her for a bit before turning back to Zombina. "She always this quiet?"

"Yep! That's our adorable little sniper." Zombina chuckled as she turned to Yukiko, who just recovered. "A Yeti too huh? Man, you really picked some unusual friends Roxas."

"How so?"

"Well, Yeti's and Hellhounds don't leave their homes that often." Tio said as she turned to Yukiko with a large smile. "You're just adorable, I could squeeze the life out of you."

"…"

Yukiko stared up at the Ogre with wide sparkly eyes. "I…I think we will be great friends." She said as she lunged at the ogre, wrapping her arms around her neck.

Pyra glanced over at Roxas while everyone was distracted by the scene of Tio and Yukiko gleefully hugging each other. "Does this happen often?"

"…It's the first time they've come over for dinner."

"Well, this is more interesting than I thought." Pyra grinned. "I think I'm going to like it here."

After meeting, everyone, Yukiko, Roxas, Pyra, and Suu retreated to his room. On the way there, they caught a glimpse of Kimihito working like a madman, cooking as if his life depended on it. Smith was sitting at the table, sipping a mug of coffee. They managed to sneak by unnoticed, but Suu saw them, which resulted in her nearly tackling Roxas in a hug. Surprisingly, Suu was learning to keep her solid-state form much better. The amount of slime he got on his shirt was minimal at this point.

Upon entering the room, Pyra glanced around, clearly unimpressed. "This room is even emptier than mine…And that's saying something."

"…What should I have in it?"

"I don't know, something" Pyra said. "Don't you have any hobbies? Any specific likes?"

"Not really."

"Pyra! Roxas had amnesia, remember?"

"Oh yeah. We need to find you a hobby." Pyra said as she sat down on his bed.

They spent the next couple of hours writing their papers. Luckily, with the three of them at work, it took less time than expected. It was clear that Pyra needed the most help because she didn't pay much attention in class. But even she managed to get a decent paper written by the end.

It was difficult to concentrate though. It sounded like a busy train station down stairs. Everyone was yelling, laughing, screaming, so much so that it sounded like complete and total mayhem.

Finally, Pyra closed her laptop and flopped down on Roxas's bed. "Finally, I don't think I've studied that hard in my life!"

"…We do homework every day after school. Do you want to come?" Roxas asked from his seat. Yukiko was sitting next to him and Suu was resting in her kiddy pool, reading a book.

"Why? You hoping' for a steamy threesome one of these days?" Pyra asked as she yawned.

"P-PYRA!" Yukiko squeaked, her face turning red again.

"um…A what?" Roxas asked.

"A threesome," Pyra said, sitting up on his bed with her eyebrow raised. "You know, when three people go at it with sex."

"…Sex?"

"PYRA! SHHHH!" Yukiko begged.

Pyra stared at Roxas in confusion for a few seconds before the gears finally turned in her mind. Her eyes widened immensely as she looked over at Yukiko, asking the silent question. Luckily Yukiko got the message and frantically nodded.

"Oh. My. God!" Pyra said. There was a brief pause before she burst out laughing. She flopped back on his bed while clutching her sides with both paws, the room echoing with her hysterical laughter. "I…Can't…Believe…This…." Pyra said, tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard.

Roxas was staring at her, completely oblivious as to why she found this so funny. Did he say something weird?

"Pyra! That's…not very nice." Yukiko said, even though she was trying not to laugh as well. She never realized that it was in fact hilarious until now. Seeing Pyra laughing like that really made the whole situation that much more funny.

"Are…You kidding…me?" Pyra wheezed. "I'm-I'm dying" she burst out laughing again, kicking her legs through the air.

Yukiko was biting her lower lip, trying not to laugh either before she noticed Roxas's confused gaze land on her.

"What's so funny?"

Pyra's laughter increased when she heard his question.

"I-it's not-Nothing Roxas." Yukiko stuttered.

"…You're lying." He said flatly

"You bet yer ass she's lying!" Pyra said, sitting up with a huge smile on her face. "Damn, that Amnesia is serious business. You don't even…don't even remember what sex is." She said before laughing once again. "Oh god, I haven't laughed like that in so long." She said, wiping her tears away.

"…What is sex then?"

Pyra was shaking, trying to contain her laughter as she stood from the bed.

"P-Pyra! Don't you dare!" Yukiko warned, not sure if she was ready to explain sex to someone their age.

Pyra ignored her as she strutted up to Roxas, her hips swaying back and forth. She reached forward and resting both paws on his shoulders.

"…What are you doing?" Roxas asked curiously.

Without warning, Pyra straddled his lap, pressing her body against this with a sultry look on her face. "You want to know what sex is?" She whispered in a husky voice.

"PYRA!" Yukiko blushed vibrantly. "Are you out of your MIND?"

"…What is it?" Roxas asked, not sure why she decided to sit on his lap to explain this.

She leaned in close to him as she brought her mouth next to his ear. She gently blew on his neck, which caused a very strange reaction from Roxas. He felt involuntary shivers travel down his spine. She then gently nipped his ear, which caused him to jerk his head away from her.

"What are you doing?" Roxas asked, a little freaked out by this new and odd sensation.

"Pyra, get off him." Yukiko exclaimed, standing from her seat.

"I'll tell you what sex is Roxas," Pyra said, ignoring Yukiko. She leaned in to his ear again. "Sooner or later."

By now, Yukiko was trying to shove Pyra off, but hellhound was digging her claws into his shirt, keeping herself firmly planted on his lap.

"Get off!" Yukiko said, shoving Pyra.

"What, Are you jealous little Yeti?" Pyra taunted.

"MUU!" Yukiko shoved again, but this time she pushed a little too hard. The chair toppled backwards along with Roxas, Pyra, and Yukiko. All three-landed flat on the floor with a loud thud. Yukiko found her face just a few inches away from Roxas's. They were stared into each other's eyes. Her face flared up again.

Suu was watching with her head cocked curiously. However, a large smile crossed her face as she stood up. "Me Too!" She exclaimed as she dove onto the pile of bodies.

Suddenly, the door swung open. "S-Sorry to bother you, but dinner is almost rea…"

Pyra, Roxas, Yukiko, and Suu all looked up to see Manako standing in the doorway with a massive blush on her face. She was staring at their very intimate position, which caused her eye to spin in embarrassment. With Pyra straddling Roxas's stomach now, Yukiko grasping his shoulders with her face only inches apart from his, and Suu clinging to both Yukiko and Pyra, there was only one conclusion the poor Monoeye could come too.

"S-s-s-sorry to bother you." She said, dashing out the door and slamming it behind her.

"…What was that about?" Roxas asked.

A burst of steam gushed out of Yukiko's ears as she fell flat on her side, her eyes rolling around in a daze.

Pyra simply chuckled as she crawled off Roxas, dragging Suu up with her. "Oh, you know. The clichéd "someone walking in and misunderstands the situation" gag." Pyra said with a laugh.

"…What were they misunderstanding?"

Now Pyra was starting to feel a little sorry for the boy. She turned to him with a more sympathetic smile. "You will learn about it someday, Roxas."

* * *

Dinner was a hilarious affair. Manako was eating quietly while avoiding eye contact with anyone. She still had a huge blush on her face though. Pyra looked around at the various assortment of food on the table and gave an impressed hum.

"You made all this?" She asked Kimihito.

"Sure did. Cooking is my specialty." Kimihito said proudly.

"That and doing the laundry, washing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming the rug…" Smith started listing.

"Alright, I get it. I'm a great housekeeper." Kimihito sagged.

"That's not a bad thing Darling, it's one thing I absolutely love about you." Miia said, wrapping her tail around his leg under the table.

"Gee, thank."

Pyra dished herself some dinner and started eating. This was a very interesting atmosphere. Everyone was laughing and having a great time. The room was full of life and happiness. Ever since leaving hell, she had never seen such a joyful atmosphere…then again, hell wasn't considered joyful at all, so maybe this was the first time in her life that she witnessed a dinner like this.

* * *

Kii was thrown from a nearby branch before landing hard on her back, gazing up into the early morning sky. She felt her eyes swirling a bit as she tried to sit up, however, her entire body ached.

Roxas came running up to her, his Keyblade disappearing in the process.

"Sorry Kii, I didn't think it would actually work." Roxas said, extending his hand to the Dryad. "Cure."

A green glow enveloped Kii, healing any bruising or scratch she may have had. Roxas felt the remainder of his magic deplete, which left him staggering a bit.

Kii slowly sat up, Gazing at the nobody with a very surprised look. "Was that…a new spell?"

"Cure?"

Kii shook her head. "No, the one you used before that."

Roxas nodded his head. "I didn't think it would actually work though."

"…How did you learn something like that?" Kii asked as she pushed herself to her feet.

"Dreams…I guess." Roxas said honestly, while scratching the back of his head.

"Dreams?" Kii asked, clearly not believing him. "How is that possible? What are you Roxas?"

"I told you, I don't know." Roxas responded back as he sat down on the ground. "I don't know why I can do these things. I don't know what I'm supposed to be."

Kii stared at him for the longest time before giving a defeated sigh. She sat down next to him and closed her eyes. She listened to the musical sound of healthy nature. Ever since Roxas had arrived, both have been working hard to clean up the forest. While they were not even close to done, she could already feel a difference.

"Have you always lived here Kii?" Roxas asked.

Kii felt a frown mar her face. "Not always. I was kidnapped a while ago by some…humans." She spat.

"You were?" Roxas asked in surprise.

"Yes. They captured me and a few other children before the police stopped them. The other children were rescued, but somehow they overlooked me." Kii said bitterly.

"What did you do?"

Kii looked up at the sky, enjoying the early morning rays against her skin. "Someone found me and carried me to this forest. Since I didn't have a name at the time, she called me Kii. She planted me here and I've never seen her since." Kii said sadly.

"She just left?" Roxas asked, eliciting a nod from Kii. "And she gave you a name? didn't you have one before?"

Kii shook her head. "Dryads keep to themselves. For as long as I can remember, I was alone. No one was around to name me, and I just lived in my previous forest." She said before her face courted in anger. "That's when I was ripped from my home."

"…Do you want to go back?" Roxas asked, thinking about his previous home with the organization.

"…" Kii paused as she thought about the question. "…There's nothing back there for me. A forest is a forest, I guess. And besides, I have a mission here."

"A mission?"

"Yeah, I need to clean up this forest. Due to human inconsideration, there is a lot of pollution in nature around here." She said as she threw a glance over in his direction. "And…I don't mind the company."

Roxas raised an eyebrow as he pointed to himself. "Me?"

"Yes. I have never…interacted with anyone beside the one who rescued me. I…rather enjoy it." Kii said simply as she looked back into the sky. "Back where I lived before, I was alone. I observed human society from a distance, which was how I learned your language. I never understood interaction, but I always found it curious."

"…I enjoy training with you." Roxas said simply, not knowing what else he should say.

"I enjoy it too. There is a lot of anger I feel towards humans. And since you look human enough, I get to take my frustration out on you without it killing you."

Roxas looked over at her flatly. "Gee…Your welcome."

* * *

"YEAH! Got a perfect score!" Yukiko cheered as she held up her class paper. She aced it of course. "How did you guys do?"

Roxas held up his paper. His mark was slightly under Yukiko's, but it was still very above average. Yukiko lunged at him, crushing him with a hug. "Nice! And you Pyra?"

Pyra looked a little less than happy as she held out her paper. They thought she did bad based on her lack of enthusiasm, but a grin crossed her face. "First time I got an A on anything. I gotta study with you two more often."

"You're always invited, you just don't say yes." Roxas reminded.

"Awe bite me." Pyra said before she licked her lips. "Actually, I think I would like to do the biting."

"I'll pass." Roxas said flatly. "So, its Friday, what do guys want to do?"

"We should celebrate!" Yukiko said. "We all aced the paper. C'mon, what do you say? Pwease!" Yukiko begged, her eyes getting all big and adorable. You would have to be a complete monster to say no and not even Pyra was that heartless.

"Well, I'm down." Pyra shrugged.

"Same, but what should we do?" Roxas asked.

"I got an idea. Why don't we check out a Manga store? I've always heard about them, but never had the chance to read any."

Pyra looked slightly disinterested. "Really? You want to go there? My host has an endless collection of them. I know because I shredded a few last week."

"Did you read any? I heard they can have some really cool stories."

"and some really perverted ones too." Pyra said back. "It's really hit or miss."

"…What's manga?" Roxas asked.

"…"

Pyra and Yukiko gave him the flattest look ever. Yukiko grabbed his arm and started pulling him in the direction of the school exit. "We are going, right now."

Pyra gave an amused sigh but finally agreed. "I guess we could educate the poor boy with Amnesia." Pyra said, patting Roxas on the head.

Roxas grunted in annoyance as he pushed her hand away. "I don't need your pity."

"I far from pity you. In fact, I find your amnesia hilarious."

A Quick train ride into town later and the gang found themselves standing in front of a manga store. As they entered, Roxas noticed that it was full of all kinds of people. They were browsing around the various manga, even picking out a few to read.

"What is this place?" Roxas asked.

"A manga store silly." Yukiko laughed. "they're kinda like detailed picture books."

"…Really?"

"Yep, and sometimes they can get pretty raunchy." Pyra said as she glanced over at a more adult section. "Make sure out say away from that section over there."

"Whys that?"

"Trust me, you aren't ready for that kind of stuff."

"…ok"

They spend the next few minutes walking around the store, browsing a few different manga series. Yukiko was flipping through a few pages of a manga she picked up while Pyra was doing the same across the store. Roxas was left alone to browse, not sure what exactly he wanted to read. However, there was one volume that caught his eye. He walked over to the shelf and picked up a manga before reading the title.

"Bleach." He read. He was about to flip open the first page before a sound caught his attention.

 _BANG BANG BANG!_

The loud noise startled the nobody as she accidently dropped the manga on the floor. He turned to see a group of huge…Liminal standing in front of the store with guns in their hands.

"Hello Fellow Otaku, Sorry to intrude but this shop belongs to us, the orc culture cultivation league" The huge one in the middle said as he shouldered his gun.

Roxas felt his eyes narrow a little as people started to scream in a panic. However, they were soon silenced as more gunfire went off.

"Make one more sound and you'll get pumped full o' led." Another orc said, a sadistic smile on his face.

Roxas stared at the firearms. It was similar to Xigbar's sharpshooters, but they were nowhere near as fast as these bullets.

"Alright, now sit down, all of you. We are going to tie you up, so don't think about runnin' off, ya hear?" Another Orc said as he held out some rope.

Roxas's eyes narrowed again. He was about to step towards them before he felt two pairs of hands clasp around his arms. He glanced over to see that Pyra and Yukiko had somehow managed to get close to him.

"Roxas, don't!" Pyra hissed. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"She's right, we have to wait until help arrives." Yukiko whispered.

"YOU THERE! SHUT YER TRAP!" One orc roared at them as another approached with a rope.

"Well, lookie here boys. We got ourselves a Yeti and A Hellhound." The Orc Sneered. "Weren't your kind supposed to be tough or something? You're actually kinda cute." He said as he brushed his sausage fingers against Pyra's cheek.

Pyra reacted instantly as she slammed her foot into the Orc's junk. The Orc doubled over in pain as he clenched his family jewels. However, all guns were on her now, though she didn't look that afraid.

"Don't you dare touch me you disgusting swine." Pyra snarled.

The Orc shakily stood on his feet as he backed away. "O-One more action like that, and you'll be sleeping with the fishes." The Orc threatened as he hobbled away. "Tsk, violent women are such a turnoff."

"Humph, cowards." Pyra said as she crossed her paws and sat on the ground next to Yukiko and Roxas.

Soon, everyone was nicely tied up. To everyone's amazement, the Orc's demands were along the line of turning every manga into an Orc Hentai paradise. What they were trying to accomplish seemed really petty for the lengths they were willing to go.

Roxas was testing the ropes strength by shifting his wrists back and forth. They weren't that strong so he could break out at any time, but these Orcs had guns. One mistake, and someone could get killed…Yukiko or Pyra might get hurt.

So he stayed his hand for now, seeing what would happen. He did notice the sounds of police cars outside the shop, but the orcs closed the curtains, meaning there wasn't any way to tell what exactly was going on outside the shop.

Yukiko was sitting right next to Roxas, curling up to him as close as she possibly could. He could tell she was scared right now based on the way she was shaking. Pyra however, didn't seem that bothered by it at all. She was still glaring at the Orcs though, so you could tell she was pissed off.

Suddenly, one of the Orcs shot at the selling. It caught everyone's attention as they looked on in confusion. However, blood started leaking from the roof before a body came crashing down to the ground.

It was a girl dressed in a yellow and black uniform. She had hair red hair and a giant scare across her face. Instantly, Roxas recognized who she was.

"Zombina?"

Zombina was holding her bleeding stomach as she looked up to see Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra sitting there all tied up.

"Da fuck you guys doing here?" She gasped before the orc kicked her over.

"Lookie who we have here? A Cute girl. Too bad I could smell you a mile away." He said as he pointed a gun directly at her chest.

"T-That's why the police can't get close. You fucking odder-fetish pigs." Zombina sneered.

"…I really don't like foul-mouth bitches like you." The Orc growled, placing the tip of the gun directly between Zombina's breasts.

Roxas's eyes widened in horror as he realized what the Orc was about to do. He saw that Zombina was really hurt, but this Orc was going to straight up kill her.

Thinking about his options, Roxas remembered a certain spell he used against Kii that morning. That spell consumed an enormous amount of magic, but his reserve had replenished somewhat throughout the day. Right now, he had to act, or something bad was going to happen to Zombina.

Roxas wrenched his wrists apart, breaking the ropes before he quickly stood on his feet.

Yukiko and Pyra looked up at him in horror. They opened there mouths to stop him before he extended his hand.

"Stop!"

Roxas grunted slightly as he felt a massive amount of his magic deplete. However, the affects were instantaneous. It was as if time itself stopped, but Roxas knew that wasn't how the spell worked. Everyone in the current vicinity ceased all movement. Yukiko's and Pyra's horror-struck faces were frozen while they looked up at him.

However, Roxas knew he had to move quickly. The spell would only last about 10 seconds before it was done. So, he rushed at the first Orc who was frozen in place with his gun pointed down at Zombina. Zombina was looking up in fear as the tip of the gun was right between her breasts.

Reaching out, Roxas wrenched the gun free of the Orc's grasp before tossing it over to the side of the store, away from anyone. He then looked down at the bleeding Zombina before extending his hand over her. "Cure"

The green light enveloped Zombina, but her wounds didn't heal right away. This was of course since the spell was still in effect.

Instantly, Roxas felt the remainder of his magic completely wither away, leaving him breathing hard from exertion. "5 seconds." Roxas murmured before he rushed over to the other Orc's, taking their firearms and tossing them over to the side of the room.

"3."

He extended his hand as he let the kingdom key appear in his hand. He viciously bashed two of the orc on top of their heads before turning to the one who was standing above Zombina. He then wacked him hard in the ribs. Neither of the Orcs made a single movement though.

"2"

Roxas rushed over to fourth Orc before also striking him in the chest with his Keyblade.

"1"

He then rushed back to where he threw the guns, which had landed by the windows. He grabbed ahold of the curtains just as his time ran out.

"0"

It happened instantly. Roxas threw open the curtain just as the spells effect wore off. Everyone started moving all at the same time. The Orc standing over Zombina was sent flying for seemingly no reason. Roxas ducked as the Orc sailed over his head, crashing through the window. Another Orc was thrown through another window before two other Orcs just collapsed with massive lumps on their heads.

"ROXAS WHAT Are you…" Yukiko yelled before she realized what was happening. She and Pyra's eyes widened when they witness this strange phenomenon. However, they also realized that Roxas was no longer standing where he was just a split second ago. Instead, they noticed he was on the other side of the room next to the window the first Orc went crashing through. Not only that, the Orc's guns were all behind him, lying in a pile.

They were staring at him wordlessly with one thought on their minds.

"W-What the hell happened?" Pyra whispered.

"W-WHATS GOING ON! WHO DID THIS?"

Roxas felt his eyes widen a bit when he looked over so see one last Orc standing there. He was holding a woman against him as if she were his shield.

"Damn…I missed on." Roxas said. He was feeling tired because of his magic exertion, so he didn't think he would be able to do much more. Luckily, he managed to get his firearm as well, but he didn't have time to attack the Orc before the spell ran out.

"SOMEON BETTER START EXPLAINING! I MAY NOT HAVE MY GUN, BUT DON'T THINK THAT WILL STOP ME!" The Orc screamed out in rage, grasping the girls breast roughly.

Roxas was about to move, but something rushed passed him even faster. A black blur shot at the Orc's face before slashing across him across the cheek.

The Orc howled in pain as he dropped the girl. He barely had time to scream again as a clawed hand wrapped around his throat.

"Not so tough without your guns huh?" Pyra said with a sinister smile.

The Orc's face paled completely as Pyra clenched her paw around his jugular. Sure, the Orc was much taller than her, but it was easy to tell that Pyra was stronger. He grasped her arm in a feeble attempt to make her let go, but she only squeezed harder, causing him to gasp for air.

"You think you could touch me and get away with it? OH, I'm really going to enjoy torturing your soul in hell." She said with a feral grin, digging her claws into the sides of his neck.

She was about to rip his throat out before she felt a hand grasp her shoulder lightly. "Ok pup, I think you've made yer' point."

Pyra turned to see Zombina standing there. It didn't surprise her because she knew zombies couldn't die that easily. "Nah, I think I should kill him."

If it were up to me, yeah sure, kill him." Zombina said, grinning as she saw a look of horror cross the Orc's face. "But it's probably not a good idea, ya know. It would be sending a bad message about your species, don't cha' think?"

Pyra huffed as she dropped the terrified Orc. The giant Pig-man scrambled behind Zombina in an attempt to get away from the angry hellhound. Zombina simply kicked him away. "A bit late for that." Pyra said as she turned her attention to Roxas. He was sitting down now next to the pile of firearms. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. She knew he was right in front of them. However, the next moment, he was gone. How did he do that? How did those guns get over there? What happened to those Orcs and why were they sent flying?

"But man…What da fuck happened?" Zombina said as she patted herself down. The holes in her body were completely gone, which made no sense to her because she was a zombie. She knew that first Orc pumped her full of lead.

Pyra again narrowed her eyes as she watched Yukiko scramble over to Roxas, frantically asking if he was ok. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

* * *

 **Authors Note: Whelp, Roxas pulled a fast one. How is he going to explain this? Oh, and before you tell me over and over in a review, I know Zombie's do not heal because their bodies are dead. But you got to think about the cure spell. It doesn't increase the body's natural ability to heal. It is an instant repair spell. When playing the game, when a cure is cast, its instant health recovery, not a gradual regeneration. So, it could work on Zombina because it simply repairs damage and does not increase the body's natural healing ability. So how does that work? Magic.**

 **Roxas used a stop spell. It stops people, not time. So keep that in mind.**

 **But anyhow, how did you like the chapter? It's a little smaller than the last few, but still over 8k words. Please leave your thoughts in a review. Thank you so much for those who do leave a review. It really does make a difference to me.**

 **Lastly, people keep asking me to give Roxas a human friend. Be patience please. It will come.**

 **Until then.**


	9. Chapter 9: Day 20 & 21

**Authors Note: Hey guys, sorry about taking so long to get this chapter out. For some reason, I was having a very hard time trying to write these past couple weeks. I don't know why, but it may have something to do the new show I started watching on Netflix. Damn it with the distractions. Anyhow, I was completely blown away by how many people commented on last chapter. The support was incredible. I'm so glad you are all enjoying the story so much. Please keep the support up. I will try to not take as long to get chapters out for everyone. So, without further delay, here is the new chapter you've been waiting for.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 9

Day 20 & 21

The entire incident at the Manga store was broadcasted on television across japan. The strange phenomenon where the hostages were miraculously saved was the talk of the town after the Orcs were Rounded up by the Mon squad.

Roxas had recovered a bit and was standing outside the store with Pyra and Yukiko beside him. They watched as Zombina and Tio hauled the Orcs into a massive military vehicle.

"Geez, what were you asshole's thinking?" Zombina barked, kicking an Orc in the backside, causing him to stumble into the van. "You really are making a bad image for your species."

"Shut up you Bitch, you don't know what it's like being of the Orc race. All our women are just like you. They're violent and only know how to boss us around."

"Seems like you guys need it." A nearby girl said absently as she rested her hands on her hips.

An Orc with bandages around his neck sneered at her. "Humph, acting all tough now that the situation has changed."

"Oh, I was never really in danger." The girl taunted before her image began to morph into the familiar figure of Doppel. She grinned at their shocked reactions. "I was just baiting you, trying to give someone else an opening." She said as she turned to the other Orcs in the van. "But it looks like it wasn't necessary."

"Y-You Cheated!" The main Orc wined. "You did something."

"Listen, you ugly piece of shit, we didn't do nothin,' And besides, you took hostages and had I been anyone else, they would of died." Zombina growled. "So what do you think the government is going to do now, huh? Do you think they will let more of your kind into the country after this?"

The Orcs were cowering in fear as Zombina went off on them. But she did have a point. If creatures were considered dangerous, then they weren't allowed to participate in the exchange program.

The Orc opened his mouth to retort, but Zombina slammed the door in his face before pounding the side of the vehicle. The engines roared to life before driving down the road. Zombina gave an annoyed sigh as she shook her head. She then turned to young kids who had been involved in the whole incident. She expected them to be a bit more traumatized by the whole thing, but surprisingly, Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra didn't seem that bothered at all.

Grinning, she approached them. "So, didn't expect your Friday to go like this huh?" She asked.

"…Not really." Roxas responded flatly.

Zombina chuckled a bit at his low-key chill attitude towards this. However, she was getting use to the idea that nothing could get under this kids skin. She then turned to the hellhound with an approving glance. "Ya know Pyra, you have some pretty badass intimidation techniques. Maybe you should join the Mon Squad someday."

Pyra grinned at the Zombie. "That's not a half bad offer if it means I get to beat on some assholes."

"Well, you're going to have to wait until you graduate." Doppel said, approaching them. "You're still a little young to be…chasing after criminals."

"…Was that a canine pun?"

"Maaaaybe." Doppel grinned as she turned and started chatting with a massive suit of armor.

"Muuu! I spent all this time gearing up and I didn't even need to." The armor wined.

Yukiko glanced up at the towering suit of armor. "Is that you Tio?"

"Yep!" Tio said as she removed her helmet. "It takes so long to put this on, and I didn't even use it."

"That still brings up a question though, what da fuck happened in there?" Zombina asked, patting her body a bit. "I swear I was shot. I really wasn't looking forward to getting more skin grafts."

"…True. That was really strange." Doppel said as she stroked her chin. "I didn't see anything. To busy playing the part of the damsel in distress."

"Hey you guys! Manako is waiting for us! We got another call about a Dragonewt walking around without her host…again." Smith called through the open window of a large van.

Zombina gave a frustrated sigh. "I swear they should just deport her already." She said as she turned to the trio. "You all gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, why?" Roxas asked.

"No reason, just stay outta trouble, would ya?" She said as she and the rest of Mon squad walked to the van before crawling in.

Pyra, Roxas, and Yukiko watched as the van drove away into the distance. There was an awkward silence for a bit as Pyra looked over at Roxas. She narrowed her eyes as she remembered what happened in the manga store. It was clear that somehow, Roxas was involved. She didn't know how, but she really wanted to find out.

Yukiko was in the same boat as she nervously glanced at the boy standing next to her. She swore that she saw him standing in front of her and Pyra before completely vanish in the blink of an eye. Add to the fact that he was on the other side of the room with a pile of guns behind him, and you had a recipe for extreme confusion.

* * *

"So much for celebrating huh?" Yukiko said awkwardly as they walked down the street. As soon as they left the scene, there hadn't been many words shared between them.

"…We still can. We just need to find somewhere else to go…and hope that places doesn't get held up either." Pyra said dryly. "Still, what happened was…weird, don't you think Roxas?"

"Sure."

Pyra felt her eyebrow twitch a bit. That was probably the least helpful way of answering her question.

Yukiko was biting her lower lip a little. She knew that Pyra was fishing for information and she didn't know if Roxas was willing to share or not.

"Yeah, I mean a couple Orcs went flying for no reason, a couple more passed out with huge eggs on their heads, and their guns disappeared. That's PRETTY weird." Pyra said with extra emphasis.

Roxas frowned a little as he looked over at her. "Um…Yeah, that's weird."

Pyra was grounding her teeth in annoyance now. "And it's weird how you seemed to just disappear an appear in another place." Pyra growled through clenched teeth.

"Are you trying to point something out?"

Pyra finally lost what little patience she had as she exploded. "Don't play dumb Roxas, we aren't stupid." she hissed, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk with her arms folded.

Roxas and Yukiko looked over at her. Yukiko swallowed nervously but didn't say anything. She was very curious as well, but Pyra was more of the confrontational type. She glanced over at Roxas, wondering what he was going to say next.

"I don't understand."

"…Roxas, what happened at the manga store. People don't just appear in different places. And it wasn't a coincidence that the guns appeared right behind you. You did something didn't you."

"…So?" Roxas replied in the most nonchalant manner possible.

Pyra and Yukiko blinked at him a few times…and then blinked some more. They obviously didn't think it would be that easy to get him to admit he did something. It threw Pyra for a bit of a loop.

Yukiko was still debating whether Roxas did anything. Yeah, she was a bit suspicious, but she wasn't 100% sure. But now he just admitted it like it wasn't something he was trying to hide.

"What?" Roxas asked, a bit confused as to why he was receiving such deer-in-the-headlight looks from his friends.

"W-What do you mean what?" Yukiko exclaimed. "You did do something at the store? Everything that happened was YOU?"

"um…Yeah." Roxas said, wondering why this was such a big deal.

"…"

Pyra and Yukiko exchanged glances, trying to figure out how to continue this conversation without totally freaking out.

"H-How?" Pyra asked, trying to get over her surprise. She seriously didn't expect Roxas to admit it this easily. She went over all the tactics she knew in order to get him to talk, but she didn't plan that far ahead if he actually did. What really amazed her was the fact that Roxas was talking like this was some kind of regular conversation. He wasn't trying to be secretive at all.

"Magic." Roxas said simply, placing his hands in his pocket.

"…"

There was another pause again as Pyra and Yukiko stared at him, trying to find any indication that he was either lying or kidding. Sadly, it was impossible to tell with the flat look on his face.

"…You're serious? Magic?" Pyra asked.

Roxas simply nodded. "Why are you so surprised?"

"Um…I don't know, because you're saying you used FUCKING MAGIC!" Pyra exploded. "Are you serious? Magic? That's your big explanation? C'mon, you have to do better than that."

"Do better than what?" Roxas asked, his face completely serious. "I used magic, how else should I explain it?"

Again, Pyra was staring at him with the intent to see any trace of lying on his face. She had seen countless people lie to her before. So she knew how to spot a lie from miles away.

However, the look on Roxas's face was clearly saying one thing and one thing only.

"…you're telling the truth." Pyra whispered in amazement.

Roxas raised an eyebrow at her. "You thought I was lying?"

"Well…Yeah! I mean, devils use magic, elves use magic, but you're…you're neither right?"

Roxas shrugged. "Beats me."

"Wait Wait wait!" Yukiko said as she massaged her temples. "Pyra, your telling me that Roxas isn't lying? He can use magic? How do you know?"

Pyra gave her a flat look. "Yukiko, do you know what the most common sin is, even in hell?" She asked, causing Yukiko to shrug. "It's lying. It's almost second nature for me to tell when someone's lying now..." She paused as she looked over at Roxas. "And he's not lying."

Yukiko's eyes widened as she looked over at Roxas. "If that's true, then why didn't you tell us you could use magic?"

"…You never asked."

Pyra and Yukiko almost faceplanted by such a simple explanation.

"Well that really doesn't come up in casual conversation. Like "Hey Roxas, how are ya doing? Hey, by the way, can you use magic?" That just doesn't happen." Pyra said as she felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

"…Then I don't know what to tell you?" Roxas said. "I didn't know it was a big deal."

"Roxas…You're tested to be human. You shouldn't be able to use magic." Yukiko said, her eyes showing a bit of worry.

Roxas didn't know how to respond to that. "Why not?"

"Humans can't use magic. In fact, only a select few Liminal can use it, my race being one of them." Pyra said.

"…You can use magic?"

"yeah…a little. Hellhounds have a decent affinity for fire, but it's minimal at best."

"…That's kinda cool. I can use fire too." Roxas said.

"…"

Again, Pyra and Yukiko were staring at their friend, coming to the realization that they hardly knew anything about him at all.

"How long have you been able to use magic? I thought you had Amnesia." Pyra said suspiciously.

Roxas paused as he thought back to when he first preformed magic. "I say about a week ago. I figured out I could use it when I was training in the mountains one day."

"You just…figured it out?" Pyra asked, clear disbelief in her voice.

"…Something like that." Roxas replied. "When I first started living with Kimihito, he suggested I keep a journal in case anything felt familiar. I've been having some strange dreams recently, and some of them included magic. It felt familiar, so I tried it."

"Dreams?" Pyra asked.

"Could they be memories maybe?" Yukiko suggested. "Maybe they have something to do with your past."

"…Maybe, I don't know though. Sometimes I feel like thy aren't my memories, but they seem…familiar." Roxas said, trying to find the right words to describe the dreams.

"That doesn't make any sense." Pyra said, rubbing her eyes.

"I know, it isn't clear to me either."

"Ok…Let's see if I got this right." Yukiko started, crossing her arms with her face courted in concentration. "You can use magic…and you learned how because you're having dreams about someone else?"

"…When you put it like that, yes it sounds confusing, but I don't know how else to describe it." Roxas said, scratching the back of his head.

"I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that you can use magic." Pyra said, her eyes narrowing again. "Show us."

"Show you what?"

"Prove you can use magic." Pyra insisted. "C'mon, you don't expect us to take your word for it, right?"

"You said I wasn't lying."

Pyra growled a bit. "Forget I said that then. Show us!"

"…I can't right now."

"Why not!"

"Because Stop magic is taxing. Casting that spell and healing Zombina used all my magic reserve."

"…"

Pyra and Yukiko were staring at him slack-jawed.

"S-S-STOP MAGIC!" Yukiko exploded. "You stopped time!?"

Roxas shook his head. "No, I stopped everyone in the room, not time." Roxas explained. "When I cast the spell, it stopped everyone's perspective of time for about 10 seconds. It's how I grabbed the Orc's guns and sent them flying."

When hearing this new information, Pyra found herself a bit frightened. You could kill someone many times over with a spell as powerful as that. To warp someone's perspective of time and make it seem as if the caster stopped time itself. That was truly an amazing ability.

"Roxas…I've never seen of a spell as powerful as that. To be able to stop anyone, that's unheard of." Pyra said.

"…It is?"

"And you said you healed Zombina?" Yukiko asked, causing Roxas to nod.

"That's the cure spell."

"But Zombina's a zombie. Her body can't heal itself." Pyra pointed out.

"It doesn't cause the body to heal itself. It instantly repairs damage."

"How does that work?"

"…Magic."

"…"

Pyra took a deep inhale as she tried to wrap her head around all this information. She slowly let it out in a steady stream of air before she massaged her temples.

Yukiko was simply staring at the boy with wide eyes. She didn't know what to think. Whether to fear him, or be excited that her friend has such abilities. Either way, her amazement was beyond what she could handle.

"Wait, you can just cast a spell and heal anyone?" Pyra asked.

"…As far as I know. I've used it a lot while training in the mountains." Roxas said plainly.

"…How can you be so nonchalant about this?" Yukiko asked, finally coming to a conclusion about her feeling. A large smile crossed her cheeks. "You can use Freaking magic! How cool is that!"

Pyra rolled her eyes as Yukiko's naïve attitude. "Hold up. It seems pretty convenient that you can't use magic right now to prove it."

"…If you believe me or not, I don't really care. I did what I thought was right back at the store."

"C'mon Pyra." Yukiko reasoned. "How else can we explain what happened?"

Pyra groaned in frustration. "Fine, I'll buy it for now, but when you get your…what's it called, magic reserve…When you get your magic reserve back or whatever, I want some proof." She growled.

"…fine." Roxas said before turning to walk away, Yukiko and Pyra hot on his heels.

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty dull after the manga shop incident. Yukiko and Pyra let the magic thing drop for now, hoping that Roxas would explain things soon. So, after browsing around the different shops for the remainder of the day, they decided to head back to Kimihito's house and chill with everyone there. They made a pit stop at Yukiko and Pyra's house so they could change into some more comfortable clothing. Currently, Yukiko was wearing her usual grey sweater, blue scarf, and black shorts. Pyra supported a dark blue tang top that showed a generous amount of cleavage, though she glared holes at anyone who had the balls to stare. She also wore some jean shorts as well.

While walking to the house, Pyra noticed that she had become accustomed to the hectic atmosphere residing there. And she didn't even mind Kimihito. The man was so generous and kind, always bringing them stacks while they worked on homework, cooking them dinner, and always providing a kind smile. He was one of the few humans who had her respect at this point.

Approaching the house, Roxas opened the door before he saw a gelatinous blue blur shoot directly at him. The entirety of its mass slammed into him like a ton of bricks, encompassing his torso for a moment before reforming into the familiar humanoid shape of Suu. She was constricting her arms around his chest tightly as she looked into his eyes.

"Roxas…Roxas!" Suu squealed. "Suu…Suu saw you on the Tele-Television."

Roxas raised an eyebrow as he patted her head. "You did?"

"She wasn't the only one." Kimihito said as he peaked down the hallway from the kitchen. "What happened at the manga store was broadcasted everywhere. We happened to see you three walking out after everything calmed down."

Yukiko and Pyra entered the house before glancing at each other. "Yeah, it was pretty crazy…" Yukiko said awkwardly.

Suddenly, Roxas, Yukiko, Pyra and Suu were encompassed by a giant Lamia tail. It crushed everyone into a large group hug before the Lamia's arms encircled them.

"We were SO worried about you guys! It must have been terrifying! Are you all ok?" Miia gushed like an overprotective sister.

"Get off me!" Pyra growled, trying to squirm out of her grip.

"Yeah, we're fine." Yukiko said, throwing a glance at Roxas.

Roxas just shrugged as he stepped out of the Liminal's grasp. "We're all good here." He said as he walked down the hallway with Suu still attached to him. Pyra and Yukiko noticed that he didn't say a word about his own involvement with the rescue. From what they could see, he just didn't care. Him being able to use magic was something he didn't think was worth talking about.

And considering that they didn't know how to explain what happened either, they decided not to say anything about it. If Roxas wanted to tell them about his magic, then he would. It wasn't there place to say anything anyway.

* * *

After hours of games, stories, conversations, eating, and playing, night had fallen and everyone was curled up, watching a movie on the television screen. But getting the movie started was a huge ordeal because the girls were fighting over who was going to sit next to Kimihito. The poor human had the unlucky job of trying to stop the conflict, but his voice was drowned out by the intense amount of bickering.

After a while, the issue was finally resolved when they realized that no one was going to back down. This lead to a very uncomfortable position for Kimihito. He was sitting in the middle of the couch, Miia on his right, Mero on his left, and Papi perched right on his lap. It was a tense atmosphere because all the girls were glaring daggers at each other while trying to snuggle as close to the human as possible.

Poor Centorea was too big for the couch, so he was forced to stand. But that didn't keep her from trying to cuddle as well. She was standing right behind where Kimihito was sitting, resting her forearms on the back of the couch. But this led to the unfortunate situation for Kimihito because her large breasts were being pressed against the back of his head.

Pyra almost found herself enjoying the household drama more than the movie itself. She was sitting on the other large couch next to Roxas while Yukiko was on his other side. Yukiko was curled up next to Roxas as close as she could while watching the movie. Roxas was also paying close attention to the movie, as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Suu was also watching, but decided to lay on her stomach on the floor, kicking her legs cheerfully while observing the television screen. She had been improving her form stability so much in the past few days that she didn't even leave a trail of slime anymore. She would rarely get anyone slimy after she touched them.

Pyra turned her attention back to the movie, trying to find interest in the silly romantic comedy that almost made her want to puke. These things didn't emulate real life in the slightest. Though she did notice herself slowly leaning into the boy sitting next to her as the movie progressed. She frowned a bit when she realized this, and pushed herself away.

Roxas either didn't notice, or didn't care though. He just simply watched the movie without paying attention to anything around him.

However, occasionally when Pyra found herself leaned into him, she tried to force herself away. But every time, she would slowly lean back into him again, as if the angle of the couch was forcing her to cuddle. She wasn't going to lie though, his warm body was very pleasant to the touch, but her pride stopped her from enjoying it. However, after the 5th or 6th time, she finally gave up and let her body fully rest against the Nobody. She rested her head against his shoulder to get more comfortable. It was a very nice position though, just leaning against another person like this.

For as long as she remembered, she never really had anyone she could do this too besides her mother. Because of who her mother was, she didn't have any friends in Hell…not that Hellhounds were that social with each other to begin with.

But feeling this kind of closeness with such a warm atmosphere was…nice. Nice enough that her eyelids began to grow heavy.

* * *

A couple hours later, the movie finally ended and Kimihito gently placed the sleeping Papi on the couch as he slowly stood up to stretched his legs. Almost everyone had fallen asleep during the movie. Miia was nodding off, and Mero was already snoring lightly. Centorea already retreated to her room before the movie ended.

Glancing over at the other couch, Kimihito couldn't help but smile at the cute sight in front of him.

Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra were all fast asleep on the couch. Roxas was in the center, his head leaning back and resting on the couch. Yukiko was on his left, her arms wrapped around his arm with her head leaning on his shoulder. She had a very peaceful look on her face as she breathed softly.

Pyra was more sprawled over the rest of the couch on his right, but her head was resting on his shoulder while his arm was around her.

All in all, they looked adorable like that, so much so that Kimihito didn't have the heart to wake them up. Besides, what was the harm in a little sleepover? It wasn't like they were going to do anything bad while they were in his living room, right? Add to the fact that Roxas didn't even know what sex was…

Kimihito turned to the harpy on the couch before gently picking her up. She was light as a feather, no pun intended. She was also murmuring in her sleep while he carried her to her room, tucking her in.

Next was mero. She was a bit heavier than Papi, but she didn't wake at all as he carried her to her own room.

On his way back to the living room, he grabbed a spare blanket out of the closet. Upon returning, he slowly draped it over the three kids who were sleeping peacefully on the couch.

"They're kinda cute huh?" a voice said behind Kimihito as he felt two arms circle around his chest with a chin on his shoulder. A tail gently curl around his lower section as well. Kimihito blushed a bit when he felt Miia's large breasts press against his back with her warm breath against his ear.

"Yeah. There's nothing like having some good friends." He said warmly.

"…Yeah, but I think they will eventually want more than that, don't you think? I know I would." Miia said, nibbling his ear sensually.

Kimihito felt his entire face flush. "Well, don't you think they're a little young? Why not let them enjoy youth for a while? They will have plenty of time to grow up later."

"True." Miia said as she rested her chin on his shoulder, looking down at the younger kids on the couch. They all looked so carefree, so peaceful while enjoying each other's warmth. "I kinda envy them. School sounds like a lot of fun. The exchange bill came out at a point where it was too late for me."

Kimihito chuckled. "There are plenty of fun things to do at our age you know. We aren't that old."

"Oh? Fun things you say?" Miia asked in a husky voice.

Kimihito regretted his words as he felt Miia tighten her coils around his legs, almost painfully. "M-Miia, I'm going to break."

* * *

 _The room was an incredibly bright white color with massive chairs that rose high in the air. Sitting upon them were twelve figures in black coats. Some had their hoods on, while others didn't. Their faces were staring down in the center of the room where the chairs circled around._

 _Standing in the center was Roxas, who was wearing the same black coat as the rest of the people. His head was dipped downward and the look in his eyes was as empty as could be. He silently walked to the center of the room as instructed._

 _One of the figures sitting on one of the chairs stared down at him. He had white hair, darkly tanned skin, and frighteningly yellow eyes. A calm smile crossed his lips._

 _"_ _Let us all welcome one of the Keyblades chosen." He said to the rest of the group. "Number 13, Roxas."_

* * *

Pyra's eyes fluttered open as the dream came to an end. She frowned slightly when she tried to recall what she just saw. She never really had a dream quite that vivid before though. The entire scenery was easy to make out, as well as the different people, even though she swore she never seen before.

The Hellhound was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed her pillow was slowly moving. She blinked a few times before raising her head to see what was going on. However, she was met face to face with Roxas as he peacefully slept with his head leaning back against the couch.

She blinked a couple more times before glancing over to his left to see Yukiko on his other side, quietly snoring away as she grasped his arm as if it were a body pillow.

She then looked down, noticing that a large blanket was laid over them. All these observations lead to the fact that she and everyone else had fallen asleep during the movie. Glancing over at the window, it was still pitch black outside. All the lights were off and the house was dead quiet.

It was then that Pyra noticed something else that was a little off. There was a cold wetness on the top of her head. Reaching up, she felt something gelatinous on the crown of her head.

"Pyra?"

Pyra glanced over her shoulder to see Suu standing behind the couch. Her main feeler was split into three smaller feelers, each one attached to their heads. She was looking over at her with a kind smile.

Pyra pulled the feeler away from her head. "What are you doing Suu?"

"Suu does this sometimes when Roxas sly-sleeps." Suu said innocently.

Pyra raised an eyebrow at the curious slime. "Is that so? Why?"

"Because it hell-helps me learn…and…" Suu said, her face courting in concentration.

"And?"

"…Roxas…Sometimes has a hard time sleeping." Suu said slowly, trying to find the correct words. "I…I help him."

"He does?" Pyra asked, glancing over at the peacefully sleeping boy.

Suu nodded. "His dream…sometimes they're…scary."

Again, Pyra turned her attention to the slime. "You can see his dreams?" she asked, causing Suu to nod once. She narrowed her eyes a little. "Does he dream about magic too?"

Suu paused for a second before nodding again. "Magic…and a lot of other things, but…I don't understand most of the time."

Pyra gave a satisfied huff, realizing that Roxas's story was lining up. She reached over at patted the Slimes head, an action that was out of character for her. "That's a neat ability."

"…Is it?" Suu asked curiously.

Pyra chuckled again as she leaned back against the boy. Her body was already missing the warmth, and she was still a bit tired. She knew that it would suck trying to get Roxas to walk them both home at this hour. Then again, it's not like she wanted to go back to that house anyway.

Still, as the Hellhound yawned and closed her eyes, she realized that it was really nice sleeping next to someone like this. It was warm against his body and…comfortable. However, a slight discomfort came when she felt Suu's feeler on the top of her head again.

"Can you not do that when I'm trying to sleep?" Pyra asked with closed eyes.

"…ok." Suu said as she retracted her feeler. It was absorbed into the two other feelers that were still connected to Yukiko and Roxas. Suu also leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the nobody's neck before closing her eyes.

* * *

Smith didn't know what to think as she stared at the computer monitor in front of her. After they found the wandering Dragonewt again, the incident at the Manga store was heavy on her mind. Because the blinds were still closed when the strange phenomenon happened, no one from the outside saw anything. Even Manako couldn't get a good visual from her perch.

That only left one good option, the surveillance system in the store. However, when she sat there watching the entire scene, she couldn't believe what she was watching. She remembered Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra at the scene, but what she was watching was…incredible.

She rewound the clip again, starting at the point where Roxas held out his hand.

"Stop!"

She watched as everyone in the room except for Roxas halted. They were completely motionless, as if they had been petrified. It looked as if time itself halted at this boy's command. Only Roxas was able to move and she watched as he took their weapons. However, what he did next really caught her attention.

He whipped his right hand to the side before the strangest weapon she had even seen appeared out of nowhere. It was a long metal weapon with a gold guard. Pausing the footage, she squinted at the weapon, trying to make out its particular shape.

"…A key?" Smith whispered as she began to roll the film again. She watched as Roxas dispatched the Orcs. Ten seconds later, everyone was moving again, and the situation played out just as they saw earlier.

After the segment ended, smith stopped the video before leaning back in her chair. She reached up and rubbed her eyes, wishing she had a cup of Darlings famous coffee. "What did I just see?" She whispered as she lowered her hand, revealing sharp and calculating eyes. "What are you, Roxas."

* * *

Axel was leaning back in a chair, board out of his mind. It had been a few days since he was jailed here in the castle and sentenced to babysit Xion. Speaking of which, the youngest nobody was currently patrolling the outside of the castle with Naminé, watching for any intruders and destroying a few wandering heartless.

While sitting there, Axel's mind wandered back to what Marluxia said as he was leaving the castle.

 _"_ _Axel, you know what I've been planning with Naminé. But now that I've been called back to HQ, you need to fulfill the plan in my place." Marluxia said._

 _Axel scratched the back of his head. "Right Right, you wanted to lure this…Sora kid to castle oblivion and replace his memories, I got it memorized."_

 _"_ _Yes indeed. With Sora under our control, we will be able to wipe out the organization and take it over for ourselves." Marluxia said, a sinister smile crossing his face. "All you need to do is make sure Naminé replaces his memories."_

 _"_ _I got it already. Now get going! You know that Xemnas doesn't like to be kept waiting." Axel gestured._

"What an idiot." Axel said, rolling his eyes. "Even with this Sora kid, Marluxia has no idea how powerful Xemnas is. Hell, he didn't even know that Xemnas was aware of his betrayal the whole time."

Axel stood from his seat and stretched his arms to the celling. After Marluxia left, Axel found Naminé in one of the many room in the castle. She was doodling away on her notepad before she noticed him. He even had a small chuckle when he remembered how their first meeting went.

" _Who-Who are you?" Naminé asked._

 _"_ _Names Axel, got it memorized?" Axel asked while tapping his temple. "I'm the new boss around here, now that Old' flower pedal is gone."_

 _"_ _Marluxia…is gone?" Naminé asked, a little hope in her voice._

 _"_ _Righto, and he left me with these icky instructions to make you change someone's memories, you know about that right?" Axel asked._

 _Naminé looked down at her notepad in shame as she nodded. "I've…I've already started luring him to the castle."_

 _"_ _Is that so?" Axel asked, picking his ear with his pinky. "Well guess what, those orders are no longer valid."_

 _Naminé's eyes widened immensely and shot up at the red-haired nobody._

 _"_ _Xemnas was already aware of Marluxia's betrayal. It would be way too much work to follow through with whatever he's doing now. And besides, I don't need to babysit another kid."_

 _Naminé couldn't believe what she was hearing. By some strange twist of fate, she was no longer being forced to rewrite Sora's memory. "So…What do I do?"_

 _"_ _Huh?"_

 _"_ _What should I do now?" Naminé asked as her head lowering again. "I…I have nowhere to go."_

 _"_ _Well…That's not my problem." Axel said waving his hand around carelessly._

 _"_ _And…Sora is already on his way to the castle."_

 _"…_ _Say what?"_

 _"_ _Before he left, Marluxia had me lead Sora in the direction of the castle." Naminé continued. "He planned on having me rewrite his memories when he entered."_

 _"_ _Is that so?" Axel said as he scratched the back of his head. "By the way, Who is this Sora kid anyway? Why was Marluxia so interested in him?"_

 _Naming looked up at the nobody and began to explain just who Sora was._

Axel grinned a bit as he looked out the window. "Well…Things might be getting interesting around here real soon."

* * *

Naminé was walking next to the hooded girl she just met a few days ago. They were walking around the perimeter of the castle, killing any approaching heartless and keeping a watch out.

Things had taken an interesting turn to say the least. With Marluxia gone, and Axel's indifference about her presence, Naminé was wondering what she should do now. She didn't have anywhere else to go at the moment, and Axel was much different than Marluxia.

Still, that didn't change the fact that Sora was on his way here. Maybe she would figure it out when he came along. But then again, when he would come, what would Axel do? Heck, if any members of the Organization knew that Sora was coming, then how would they react? She was just lucky that Axel didn't really know who he was.

These thoughts were on her mind as she watched Xion shoot a ball of fire at an oncoming heartless, destroying it instantly. Xion didn't talk much at all, in fact, she seemed…pretty different from the other nobodies. Occasionally, Naminé would watch Xion and Axel spar against each other. Axel of course was the superior's fighter, but it was curious that Xion didn't really have a signature weapon like the rest of the Organization. She stuck mostly to simple spells and impressive agility when fighting.

"Naminé?"

Naminé blinked a couple times as she looked over at her dark-haired companion. "Yes?"

"…Why do the Nobodies need Kingdom hearts?"

Naminé was a bit confused at the question. "I don't understand."

"Xemnas said we need Kingdom hearts to become whole." Xion said. "But, how will kingdom hearts help us? Axel doesn't know either."

The question caused Naminé to ponder for a bit. This was the first time she had heard anything about it. From what she knew, Nobodies were being without hearts…but how was Kingdom hearts supposed to change that? She never heard of it doing anything like that.

"I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

"…Because Axel said we needed Roxas to gather hearts for Kingdom hearts. He said that the Members of the Organization release heartless into other worlds to capture hearts for us."

The revelation his Naminé like a fret train. She felt sick when she heard this new information. Marluxia may have mentioned something vague before about the Organizations plan, but this was on a whole new level. The Organization was actually doing something like this to accomplish their goal.

"I…" Xion continued, getting Naminé's attention. "I don't like it. Even if it's to accomplish our goal, I don't like this."

Naminé felt a small smile cross her lips. It seemed that this nobody was truly different from the rest. But there was still a sickening problem. The Organization was planting heartless and when they had Roxas, they would start collecting the hearts. They needed to be stopped. But how? How were they supposed to go against such powerful beings on their own? Who had the strength to fight against them?

That's when it occurred to Naminé that there was someone. Someone who defeated Ansems heartless, someone that may just be powerful enough to go against the Organization.

"Sora." She whispered.

* * *

Roxas slowly opened his eyes just as the morning rays of sunlight began to shine through the window. The first thing he noticed was that he was not looking up at the celling of his room. Instead, he found himself lying on his back on the same couch that he fell asleep on last night.

The next thing he noticed was that he was having a difficult time moving. There was a weight pressing down on his chest and side.

Blinking a couple times, Roxas tried to glance down, but an arm that was curled around his neck was giving him some trouble. He saw that the arm had a while layer of soft fur on it, so he could only guess it belonged to Yukiko. Looking over the appendage, he saw a large mop of black hair and a large black paw clutching the front of his shirt. The person was lightly snoring as her large canine ears twitched every so often.

Glancing over to his left side, he saw the top of Yukiko's head while she hugged his arm tightly with her left while her right arm was gently resting around his neck, her face nearly nestled in the crook of his neck as well. It seemed their position shifted slightly from when they first fell asleep. Thankfully the couch was big enough to support the three of them like that, but it was still a bit cramped.

Roxas shifted his shoulders a bit, trying to wiggle free of their grasp, but that was easier said than done. The second he tried to move, Yukiko clamped on harder and nuzzled her face deeper into his neck. Pyra clenched the front of his shirt with her claws, a bit more painfully that he would have liked. Her red claws were already poking holes in his shirt as she gave a small growl.

Looking up at the celling again, he debated what to do. Kii would be expecting him soon, so he had to find a way to get out of this mess.

"Ah, M-Morning Roxas."

Roxas glanced over Yukiko's head to see Suu sitting in her kiddy pool. She was beaming up at him.

"…Morning Suu." He said with a small smile before he tried to move again.

"Are you stuck?" She asked innocently.

"Looks like it." Roxas responded, noticing Pyra's ears twitch a few times. He tried to move his other arm, but it was trapped under the hellhound as well.

"Need help?"

Roxas glanced over at her. "Can you?"

Suu nodded frantically before she extended her hand.

"What are you doing?" Roxas asked.

Suu didn't answer as her arms turned to large feelers. They then shot out and wrapped themselves around both Yukiko and Pyra before instantly lifting then straight into the air.

"A-AHHH!" Yukiko screamed out as she was jolted awake by the sudden movement, waving her arms around frantically.

"Da Fuck's going on!" Pyra yelled out as her eyes shot open as well. They were both suspended in air by Suu's feelers.

Roxas simply looked up at them, mildly impressed that Suu could do that. He slowly stood from the couch and stretched his arms.

"Hey! Get me down!" Yukiko exclaimed, falling her arms about.

"What's the big idea!"

Roxas looked over at Suu. "Let them down."

"Ok" Suu responded with a huge smile before she gently set the Yeti and the Hellhound down on the ground.

"Geeze! Talk about a rude awakening." Pyra growled as she let out a large yawn, showing of her large canines. She glanced over at the clock before frowning. "It's fucking 5AM! Why are we up so early?"

"Yeah! I was so comfortable~" Yukiko trailed off with a yawn.

"…You were?"

Suddenly, Yukiko blushed as she remembered why she found herself so comfortable. "Um…."

"…Well anyway," Roxas started as he cracked his neck. "I need to meet up with Kii for some training. I can take you home afterwards."

"Training?" Pyra asked. "And whose Kii?"

"Someone I train with. I've been helping her clean the forest, and in return she lets me train there."

"You train there? Do you mean exercise?" Yukiko asked, rubbing her eyes. "Wait…Do you train with magic too?"

Roxas looked over at the two of them before nodding.

Instantly, Pyra rushed over to him. "Take us with you! You promised to show us magic, right?"

"Yeah! It would be fun, and I always wanted to see the forest." Yukiko beamed, forgetting all about being tired in exchange for excitement.

Roxas hummed in thought as he mulled it over. "Sure, I don't see a problem with it." He said before he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Suu wants to come too!" She said cheerfully.

Roxas smiled down at her and patted her head. "Alright. I just need to get something from my room. I'll be right back." He said as he left the three Liminal in the living room.

Yukiko and Pyra sat down on the couch and waited patiently for Roxas to return. Yukiko had picked up her cell phone from the coffee table and was texting away.

"Why are you texting?" Pyra asked curiously.

"um…My host. He um…called several times." She said nervously as she hit the send button.

Pyra raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior. She did notice that Yukiko would always grow quiet when she talked about her host. She always had this frightened and nervous look in her eye, but every time her host would pop up in conversation, she would try and change the subject as fast as possible. These were clear hints that the Yeti girl didn't have a great relationship with her host.

"Humph, I don't give a shit about my hosts. The parents are alright, but the son is a complete loser." Pyra said, picking up her phone. There were no texts or calls for her.

"Yeah…He tried to get you deported a few times, right?" Yukiko asked, setting down her phone.

"Yep. The dumbass was almost successful a few times."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore right?" Yukiko said with a smile.

A small smile perked the corner of the hellhounds mouth. "I guess I don't, huh." She whispered, realizing that after she met Roxas, she never once had to rely on anyone in that house. "By the way, I don't even remember falling asleep, do you?"

"Nope, I was way too comfortable." Yukiko beamed.

"I bed you were, you looked pretty comfortable, all snuggly like that." Pyra grinned, causing Yukiko's face to flare up.

"S-Shut up! I-I saw you snuggling too like a cute little lapdog." Yukiko countered.

"ohh! The Yeti has claws." Pyra said, the slightest tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Since when did you get so snippy?"

Yukiko shrugged dramatically. "Who knows, maybe your rubbing off on me." She grinned back.

"You two ready?"

Yukiko and Pyra stopped there friendly bickering as they looked over the couch at Roxas. He was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed. Their eyes widened when they saw what he was wearing.

A black coat that covered nearly every inch of his body.

"…What?" Roxas asked, wondering what they were staring at.

"That…coat." Yukiko said quietly, causing Pyra to glance over at her in confusion.

"What, this?" Roxas asked, grasping the fabric of his Organization 13 coat. "What about it?"

"…It's nothing" Yukiko said as she stood up.

Pyra also stood, but was staring at the coat for the longest time. She swore it was the same one from the tiny dream she had last night. However, she shrugged it off as coincidence as she followed Yukiko, Roxas, and Suu out the door.

* * *

"Geeze Roxas, you didn't tell me you were this fast!" Pyra panted as they finally found themselves in the middle of the forest.

"I…Can't…Breath!" Yukiko gasped, falling to the ground and sucking as much oxygen as her lungs would allow. "I…Thought I was in…Good shape." She wined.

Roxas simply placed Suu on the ground as he rolled his shoulders. Suu was able to walk, but she wasn't able to move as fast as them. In fact, Roxas was pretty impressed that Yukiko and Pyra managed to make it all the way up here in decent time. "I've been coming here every morning before school to train." Roxas said, glancing around the forest. "There's also a lot of garbage to clean up."

"Yeah, I can see that." Pyra said, looking around at the scattered piles of trash.

"Roxas, who are these people."

Everyone in the party looked over to see someone peaking their head around a large tree. She had Green leaves that resembled hair and her arms were covered in dark bark.

"Hey Kii." Roxas said, casually waving at her.

"…Is that A Dryad?" Yukiko asked in amazement as she pushed herself to her feet.

"I ask again Roxas, why did you bring other people here?" Kii asked, a frown crossing her brow.

"…Was I not supposed to?"

"No, you weren't. This is my forest and I don't like outsiders." She growled.

Pyra found herself amazed that a Dryad lived in this forest. But not only that, it looked like she and Roxas had a relationship of some kind.

"They're my friends Kii." Roxas said. "I trust them."

"Well I don't!" Kii said, a small glare on her face. "I don't know them."

"…You didn't know me either at first, yet you and I are friends."

"It's because I feared you at first. That was the only thing that kept me from driving you out of my forest at al-." Kii was about to retort, but was interrupted when she was suddenly glommed by a cheerful Yeti.

"A Dryad! This is SO COOL! Roxas, how come you always meet the coolest people!" Yukiko exclaimed, giving the Smaller Dryad a taste of her Yeti bearhug.

Kii was flailing about, trying to escape the Yeti's grasp. "Unhand me!"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I couldn't help it! You're so adorable." Yukiko said as she set the Dryad down.

Kii looked very uncomfortable at the new interaction she was having with this stranger. "…I only look this way because I've been lacking sufficient nutrients this morning." She said, referring to why she was looking so small.

"Wow! So, it's true? Your body does change depending on how much nutrition the forest has?" Yukiko asked brightly.

Kii looked impressed. "You…know about Dryads?"

"A little." Yukiko said kindly as she looked around. "I'm guessing the pollution really affects you huh."

"It does. That's why Roxas has been helping me clean the forest." Kii said, amazed that she was already feeling comfortable around this new person. "Who…Who are you by the way?"

"Oh, Silly me!" Yukiko said bashfully. "My name is Yukiko. I'm a Yeti from the Japanese Alps. It's nice to meet'cha."

Kii stared at the energetic girl for the longest time. "I'm Kii the Dryad." She said before she glanced over at Pyra. "And who are you?"

"…Pyra. I'm a hellhound."

Kii continued to stare at her, not in fear, but of curiosity. "I've heard of your kind, but never thought I would meet one. Weren't your species considered too dangerous to be a part of the exchange bill?"

Both Yukiko and Roxas glanced over at Pyra. She had never mentioned something like that before.

Pyra noticed and scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Well…There was a special circumstance concerning me." She said simply.

"Hmm…Interesting." She said before she turned to the last person in the group. She raised an eyebrow as she took in Suu's features.

"And a slime. This is very interesting indeed."

"My names Suu!" Suu said cheerfully, waving her gelatinous hand at her.

"…And it can talk. From what I knew, Slimes were considered pretty unintelligent."

The corner of Roxas's mouth curled upward as he reached over at patted Suu's hair, causing her to smile. "She was true at first, but she's a quick learner."

"I see."

"Kii, where should we work today?" Roxas asked, trying to get back on track.

"Oh yes, I suppose we should get started." Kii said as she stood up. "But first, I've absorbed a bit of pollution. Would you mind?"

"Not at all."

Kii nodded as she walked over to Roxas.

Yukiko and Pyra were watching curiously. "What is she talking about Roxas?" Yukiko asked.

Roxas didn't answer. He simply raised his hand at Kii.

"Cure."

What Yukiko and Pyra saw next completely blew them away. Kii emitted a green light and the withered look she had completely vanished. They saw her breathe a sigh of relief as the light faded, leaving a very healthy, and somewhat more…Mature looking Kii standing there.

"W-W-W-WHAT WAS THAT!" Yukiko yelled in excitement as she bounded up to Roxas. She had stars in her eyes while she was literally bouncing on the balls of her feet. She wasn't the only one though. Pyra may have been just as excited, but she didn't wear her emotions on her sleeve like Yukiko did. Instead, she clenched and unclenched her paws a few times, trying to calm herself down.

"It was the cure spell. The one I used on Zombina yesterday." Roxas said.

"W-What else can…You do?" Pyra asked, trying to keep her amazement intact. After witnessing him use magic first hand, all doubt vanished, leaving only room for excitement.

"Well…" Roxas said as he extended his hand to the side. "I can do this."

Pyra and Yukiko gasped as a flash of light appeared in his hand before revealing a very strange looking object. It was in the shape of a huge Key. They had never seen anything like it before. Suu simply cocked her head as looked at the weapon as if she already knew what it was.

"What is that?" Yukiko asked.

"This," Roxas said as he raised the Kingdom key in front of him. "is the Keyblade."

"The…Keyblade?" Pyra asked, her eyes widening a bit.

 _Let us all welcome the Keyblades chosen one._

That phrase echoed through Pyra's head as she looked up and down the weird weapon. This had to be a coincidence. But how? Roxas had the same coat, and had this strange thing called the Keyblade. It wasn't exactly a common name, so why did she have a dream about it earlier.

Yukiko was also staring at the weapon in awe. "Where did it come from? Did you summon it?"

"Yeah." Roxas said. That was probably the best way to describe it honestly.

"W-What are you Roxas?" she asked.

Roxas paused as he thought about the question before giving a small sigh. He pointed to a random pile of trash with the Keyblade

"Thunder."

Instantly, the sky's darkened and a bolt of lightning fell from the heavens. It struck the pile with an earthshattering force, completely obliterating it.

Yukiko and Pyra flinched and covered their faces momentarily as debris went flying everywhere. When they looked back at Roxas, he was standing there facing them, his back to the scorched area. He had a solemn look in his eyes.

"I wish I knew what I was supposed to be."

* * *

Since it was Saturday, Roxas, Pyra, Yukiko, Suu, and Kii all worked hard the entire day cleaning up the forest. Roxas and Kii decided to put a day of training on hold now that they had more helping hands. Still though, trash was everywhere and some of it was hard to get rid of. Thankfully, Suu could harmlessly absorb any poisonous or Toxic waste scattered around the area. It was especially useful when she could absorb harmful and flammable substances like motor oil. Her ability to dissolve the harmful substances with her body was quite extraordinary. However, that had some strange effects on her vocabulary. She would occasionally spout out more curse words than Pyra.

Kii opened a little with Pyra, Yukiko, and Suu, but she was still very soft spoken about everything. However, she did notice that they made much more progress with the five of them rather than the regular two.

"Geeze! This is going to take forever!" Yukiko huffed as she and Roxas maneuvered an entire broken refrigerator onto a large pile of garbage. "How can people just dump stuff like this?"

"Because humans don't care about nature. They only know how to destroy." Kii responded simply as she guided a branch to place down a box of used engine parts next to Suu. Suu proceeded to absorb the parts, leaving then clean of any oil before dumping them back into the box.

"This doesn't seem very efficient at all." Pyra said as she wiped the sweat from her brow before turning to Roxas. She gave him a small grin. "Don't suppose you have any teleportation magic in your arsenal? Teleporting this junk to a local dump would be better than striking it with lightning."

Roxas shook his head. "Not that I know…" He started before he trailed off.

Yukiko and Pyra waited for him to finish, but instead his face showed one of pondering.

"What is it?" Asked Yukiko.

"Hmmm…" Roxas hummed in thought. "I have something, but I don't really know how to control it well."

"Wait wait WAIT!" Pyra started. "I was just kidding. You really know a teleportation spell?"

Roxas shook his head. "It's not a spell. It's something much different." He said, trying to find the right words to describe it. "It's more like a…doorway."

Pyra raised an eyebrow. "A doorway? I don't get it."

"…That's the only way I can describe it." Roxas said as he closed his eyes. "It might just be better if I show you.

Pyra, Yukiko, Kii, and Suu watched as Roxas raised his hand. At first, nothing happened. He was just standing there with his eyes closed.

"…Well? What's wrong?" Pyra asked impatiently. She really wanted to see some teleportation magic because that was some of the rarest magic seen.

"I haven't used it in a while." Roxas said calmly, trying to manipulate the darkness under his control.

Suddenly, wisps of darkness started to form from the ground, catching everyone's attention. They gazed at the spot intently, before a pillar of darkness erupted from the ground. It was so sudden that is spooked everyone a bit.

Roxas opened his eyes as he looked at the main method the Organization used to travel to different worlds.

"R-Roxas, what is that?" Yukiko asked with a bit of fear in her voice. She had never seen something so dark and ominous in her life. It caused her to tremble a bit at its mere presence.

"This…" Roxas said, gesturing to the pillar. "Is the corridor of darkness."

Pyra was staring into the abyss that was the corridor, a sinking feeling forming in her gut. She had heard of a few methods of teleportation before, one of them which was used to get out of hell. But this was so much different. This was emitting pure, unfiltered darkness. Even in Hell, this kind of pure darkness was very, VERY rare.

"Roxas." Pyra said seriously as she turned to him. "How? How are you able to summon pure darkness? Not even the most skilled of Devils can control it."

Roxas frowned at the question. "Pure darkness?"

"Yes! The most ominous and dangerous substance found in hell. Even the most powerful devils fear it because it has the power to consume the world. It's the punishment used for the most evil of souls. Everyone would agree they would rather spend an eternity of suffering rather than being cast into pure darkness."

"Why's that?"

"Because Roxas…" Pyra said, her tone very serious. "The thing people fear more than pain is not existing. That's what Pure darkness does, so how can use control it?"

Again, Roxas frowned in confusion before shrugging. "I don't know. I've only used the Corridor once right before Smith found me."

Pyra was staring at the boy in complete amazement, but also in fear. "You've entered the darkness?" She asked, causing Roxas to nod. "HOW?"

Roxas was a bit taken aback by her outburst. She was suddenly right in front of his face, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him back and forth in a panic.

"How are you not dead? How is your soul still intact? Pure darkness destroys everything! Anyone who has been in contact with it, they just disappear!"

Roxas slapped her hand away and took a step back. "Knock it off!"

"T-That must be it!" Pyra suddenly said.

"What?" Yukiko asked, clearly confused as to what Pyra was talking about now.

"That must be why you have amnesia. You were in contact with the darkness. It must have messed you up." Pyra concluded.

Roxas stared at the Hellhound as she continued to theorize before shaking his head. "No, that's not it."

Pyra looked over at him again. "But it's impossible to touch pure darkness without it hurting you in some way."

"Not it's not." Roxas said as he grasped the fabric of his coat. "This protects me from the darkness."

"…You're coat?"

"Yeah." Roxas nodded. "We knew using the Corridor is dangerous, so we wore these coats to protect us."

"Roxas…" Yukiko asked, looking a bit concerned. "Who's we? I thought you didn't remember anything."

Roxas pursed his lips. He didn't mean to let that slip, but it wasn't like he was trying to hide it either. "We…as in members of Organization 13."

"Organization 13?" Pyra asked. "What is that? Did you lie about having amnesia?"

Roxas shook his head. "Not remembering anything is true about me. But Smith wasn't the first to find me."

"Wait, she wasn't? Someone else found you first?" Yukiko asked, clearly curious. She never really had the chance to learn about Roxas's past.

"Yeah. Organization 13 found me, and took me in. Axel tried to teach me how to use the Corridor or darkness…" Roxas said as he turned to the pillar of darkness and let it disappear. "But I couldn't control it, so it led me here."

"Wait, so you're saying you use Pure darkness to travel?"

"…That's the main way members of Organization 13 travel."

Pyra felt her insides tighten a bit. If what Roxas was saying was true, then there was an entire Organization that could control pure darkness. That kind of power was unheard of. Just the thought that so many people could do it was frightening, especially if they managed to keep it a secret from the rest of the world and even in Hell.

"So, how does that work?" Yukiko asked, her fear disappearing as soon as the corridor vanished. It was replaced by curiosity.

"…It's like opening a backdoor between places. But I've never managed to make it work." Roxas said. "When I first appeared around here, it was because I just opened it and walked through."

"So, you just opened it?" Kii asked, causing Roxas to look over at her and nod. "Have you tried focusing on a place where you want to go?"

"…"

Roxas paused as he thought about the first time he used the corridor of darkness. His eyes widened a bit when he realized that he didn't have a destination in mind. He just simply opened the corridor and walked through, as per axels' instruction.

Looking over at Kii he shook his head. "No, I haven't."

Kii looked at him flatly. "To me, it would seem that you lack common sense. If you had this ability to teleport, then cleaning up the forest would be a much simpler task."

"That's true."

"Well…try it Roxas! I want to see if this works." Yukiko said with excitement.

Pyra was somewhat against the idea. She knew how dangerous pure darkness was based on the testimony of many, but she was also curious if there truly was an entire organization that could use darkness. She wanted to see it. She wanted to see someone control the most feared substance in Hell.

Roxas nodded as he extended his hand again, summoning the Corridor into existence. Only this time, he had a simple destination in mind. The wispy entrance beckoned him to walk through. He was about to, but hesitated. If he did this wrong, then he might never be able to get back here again. If the Corridor spat him out somewhere in the infinite cosmos, then there was little chance of him finding a way back to this world.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Yukiko egged.

Roxas looked over at them, a concerned look in his eyes. He wanted to tell them his thoughts, but he knew he was not supposed to reveal the existence of other worlds.

"…It's nothing." Roxas said as he turned to the corridor and made his decision. He walked through, hoping for the best.

Pyra and Yukiko watched the dark entrance vanished behind Roxas. They waited a few moments, but they were alone in the forest with Kii and Suu. They waited for a few more minutes, but nothing else happened. It was then that a bit of worry started entering their hearts.

"W-What happened?" Yukiko asked, a bit of panic in her voice.

"…" Pyra's mind was going wild. This was exactly what she heard would happen to someone who would come in contact pure darkness. Her heart sank to her stomach.

"P-Pyra, where's Roxas!" Yukiko asked, a bit frantically.

"I don't know. Damn it! What were we THINKING!" Pyra exploded, causing Yukiko and Kii to jump. "We just let him walk into PURE DARKNESS!"

"What's wrong Pyra, what happened?" Yukiko asked, on the verge of freaking out.

"Yes, what happens to someone who enters this…pure darkness." Kii asked, trying to fabricate a look of calmness on her face. However, her heart was pounding in her chest.

Suu on the other hand was calm and collect as she stared at the spot where Roxas vanished. She looked over at the panicking trio before cocking her head in confusion. She didn't know why they were freaking out. This wasn't the first time Roxas had used the Corridor after all.

* * *

Roxas had his eyes closed as the corridor of darkness vanished away. Slowly, he opened his eyes, praying that it worked this time instead of throwing him somewhere in the universe. However, when his eyelids opened, he noticed that he was standing in a very familiar spot.

His room.

Roxas felt his heart hammer in his chest as he realized that he just used the Corridor of darkness successfully. All he had to do was think of a destination while creating the corridor, and it would work. Why didn't he think of that sooner? Heck, why didn't axel mention something like that?

Roxas felt a tiny smile curl alongside is lips. He did it. Now he knew how to use the Corridor of Darkness. Now he could go back to the Organization…

Roxas found himself frowning at that thought. Why did he have to go back anyway? What was there for him? Here, he had friends, a school, people that…cared about him. Why would he want to leave that?

Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts about returning to the organization out of his mind. There was no way he could leave now, not when he was learning so much.

"I can't believe Darling is sick. And we can't do anything about it!"

A sudden voice from outside his door tore the nobody from his thoughts. Curious, he walked over to the door and pulled it open. Looking down the hallway, he saw everyone standing there, looking concerned about something.

"…What's going on?" Roxas asked.

Everyone looked over to see Roxas poking his head out his doorway.

"ROCSACK!" Papi yelled, shooting straight at the nobody and slamming roughly into him. "Hubby is…Hubby is sick!"

"Ouch." Roxas said flatly as he looked down at the depressed Harpy. "He's sick?"

"Yeah! And mean Terminator lady said we can't help him. Something about mounting a Viking."

"…No Papi, she mentioned Mutating a virus." Centorea explained. "She was supposed to be taking care of Darling…but"

"..But what?" Roxas asked.

Centorea eyes narrowed a little. "She's asleep on the couch downstairs." She said before she raised an eyebrow. "I thought you left this morning."

"I did." Roxas said as he slowly peeled Papi off. "Maybe I should see if I can do anything."

"But…But you're a Liminal too!" Miia said. "I don't want to start a pandemic!"

"Actually, Roxas is more human than the rest of us." Centore murmured. "Maybe you can do something. At least ask master if he is alright for us."

Roxas nodded his head as he walked past them before entering the room. He closed the door behind him and turned to the figure lying in bed.

"Oh…Cough…Roxas"

Roxas raised an eyebrow as he heard and extremely raspy voice. He saw Kimihito laying there in bed. His face was red and he looked as if he were on deaths door. His eyes had bags under them and his breaths were coming out sharp and ragged.

"…You look horrible." Roxas said.

Kimihito game him the flattest look his sick face could muster. "you…need to work on…your tact." Kimihito said between coughs.

"Are you alright?"

"No." Kimihito responded. "I…Think my body is just…exhausted."

Roxas thought back on Kimihito's hectic schedule. It was true that he worked like a madman. Between taking care of 5 liminal, plus Yukiko and Pyra when they would come over, and a part time job to keep the house afloat, how did this man get any time to rest.

The simple answer. He didn't. So, his body demanded him to stop working by getting sick.

"Um…You're a Liminal, so didn't Smith stop you from coming in?" Kimihito asked.

"…Smith is asleep on the couch."

Kimihito grumbled as he pulled the covers closer to his face, trying to keep warm. "That lazy coordinator."

Roxas nodded as he approached the bed. "Kimihito, I can help if you want."

The older man pulled the covered down a bit and looked up at Roxas with hopeful eyes. "You will? The girls can't even get me a glass of water because they are afraid of…mutating a virus."

Roxas nodded as he stretched forth his hand over Kimihito. However, he paused when he noticed Kimihito's curious gaze on him. He remembered how much Yukiko and Pyra freaked out when they learned he could use magic. If they reacted this way, then how would Kimihito react? Would he freak out as well?

Thinking back on all he knew about the human, Roxas concluded that Kimihito was a bit more mature than Yukiko and Pyra, so hopefully he would take it better.

"What…are you doing…Roxas?" Kimihito asked curiously.

Giving a small sigh, Roxas looked the man in the eye. "Just…promise me you won't freak out."

"…freak out about what?" Kimihito asked with a bit of worry in his voice.

"Cure."

Instantly, there was a green light that enveloped Kimihito. His eyes widened in fright, but his body was too worn out to try and escape.

"W-What going…on…" Kimihito started before he noticed the green light dispersed just as fast as it appeared. He blinked a couple times before patting himself down frantically, trying to see if anything was wrong with his body.

But he found that nothing was. In fact, he felt completely amazing. His throat didn't hurt anymore, his nose wasn't clogged, the only ailment left was his exhaustion. Slowly, he looked up at Roxas with wide eyes.

"H-How? W-w-what happened?" Kimihito asked breathlessly.

"…Do you feel better?"

"Y-yeah." Kimihito said, clearing his throat once to confirm it was no longer sore. "I feel amazing but…what was that? What did you do?"

See that Kimihito was freaking out as well, Roxas pursed his lips a bit. It seemed that in this world, Magic was as uncommon as Pyra said.

"It was magic."

"…Magic?" Kimihito asked, his eyebrow raised. "Since when could you use magic? Do you remember who you are?"

Roxas shook his head. "No…but do you remember you told me to keep a journal of my dreams? You know, in case something seemed familiar?" he asked, getting a nod out of Kimihito. "Well, I had a dream about magic and if felt familiar. So, I tried it."

"…And it just worked? Just like that?" Kimihito asked, now clearly curious. Sure, he was freaking out a bit on the inside, but considering he was taking care of creatures that were thought to be myths a few years ago, this just added to the mix?"

"…It took a little practice, but there are a few spells I can use. This is what I've been doing for training in the morning."

"OH…" Kimihito mused. "So, that's what you were doing. But Roxas, why didn't you tell us sooner about this?"

"…You didn't ask."

Kimihito made a strange noise that sounded like a cross between a cough and him choking. What Roxas said was true, but…that doesn't just come up in conversation. Especially when there was no reason to suspect that he could use magic at all.

"So, you can use Magic?" He asked, causing Roxas to nod. "And you still don't know what you are?" Another nod.

"Well…This is a new development." Kimihito said as he scratched his chin. "I haven't heard of many Liminal that can use magic. Does anyone else know you can use it?"

"…I showed Yukiko, Pyra, and Suu earlier. They asked about it after what I did at the manga store."

"Wait…that was you? You sent those orcs flying?" Kimihito asked, eliciting a nod from Roxas. "Geeze! How? Was it more magic?"

Roxas nodded again. This was feeling a little redundant because he just explained this to Pyra and Yukiko.

"How did no one else see it? Why wasn't it all over the news that you can use magic?"

"…Because the spell I used was a stop spell. Its stops everyone's perspective of time for about 10 seconds…well, everyone that's close to me."

Kimihito was truly amazed now. He had heard of some rare Liminal that could use magic, but nothing as powerful as to stop people's perception of time. "Wow…That's…something."

"Yeah." Roxas responded. "I didn't have a choice. The Orc was going to shoot Zombina."

Kimihito gave a small smile as he reached dover and ruffled Roxas's hair. "Well…either way, you did a good thing. No one was hurt because of you."

Roxas looked up at the man with a small smile on his lips. No matter what the circumstance, Kimihito always knew what to say.

"But…I think we should keep this on the down low for now." Kimihito suggested. "I don't feel like any of us want to deal with reporters on our doorstep, don't you?"

"…Is it really that big of a deal?"

"With that kind of Magic, yes." Kimihito said somberly. "So, from now on, be careful when you use it, alright?"

"…Okay." Roxas responded with a nod.

"Good." Kimihito said as he stretched his arms to the sky. "Well, I think I should get back to work huh? I bet the girls are pretty hungry."

Roxas reached out and placed a hand on Kimihito's shoulder, halting him from getting up. "I think you should take this chance to rest. You…work way to hard."

Kimihito's eyes got all big and watery. "You…truly understand Roxas." He said as he sniffed comically. "I think I will do just that."

Roxas nodded as he watched Kimihito lay back in bed and pull the covers over his body before turning on his side away from Roxas. Roxas turned as well before walking to the door.

"Oh, and Roxas…"

"yeah?" Roxas responded as he grasped the door knob.

"Thanks for healing me. I Just wish I would have known about it sooner, like every time Miia dislocates a limb by accident." Kimihito said with a laugh.

"…Ask me next time." Roxas said with a smile as he opened the door and left the room.

The instant he walked into the hallway, the girls were in his face.

"So So SO? How is he?" Miia asked eagerly, worry clear on her face. The others nodded in agreement.

"…He's resting now. Maybe check on him in the morning." He said. Technically, he didn't lie, he just didn't tell the whole truth. He knew that they would probably rush into his room and bombard him. The poor guy needed a break.

Centorea slumped a bit. "If only we could nurse him back to health. I could use my body heat to keep him warm."

"You would just suffocate him with those huge boobs of yours." Miia shot back.

"Humph, such a thing would never happen. It is you that would break him in half due to your obvious lack of self-control." Centorea retorted as she crossed her arms.

Roxas walked away, leaving the trio to argue in the hallway about taking care of the sick human. He then entered his room before he realized something.

He left Pyra and Yukiko alone in the woods. They were not allowed to be alone without him.

Quickly, he focused on the place he wanted to go before he expended his hand and summoned the corridor of darkness, walking through right when it appeared.

* * *

Pyra and Yukiko were still in the forest with Kii and Suu. Yukiko was crouched down, balling her eyes out when Pyra finished her speech about the dangers of pure darkness. Kii was somberly looking up at the trees, trying to keep her emotions in check, but Pyra's words disturbed her greatly.

Suu didn't seem to understand the message that well, but was trying to comfort Yukiko while she cried her eyes out. She was gently rubbing her back is soothing circles.

Pyra was pacing back and forth, angrily gnawing on her claw. How could she be so stupid as to let Roxas just waltz into the darkness like that. She thought that because he claimed to have used it before, that it would be alright. But he had been gone for a while now. The only conclusion she could come to was that he was consumed by pure darkness.

"B-But he said he used it before!" Yukiko cried between sobs.

"It doesn't matter. Pure darkness is unpredictable, which is why no one is able to use it." Pyra shot back, her frustration getting the better of her. "Many have tried to tame pure darkness before and even if you are successful a couple times, it can and will destroy you in the end."

Her words did nothing but cause Yukiko to cry harder.

"If you knew this, then why?" Kii started, her eyes narrowing. "Why didn't you stop him?"

Pyra grit her teeth in anger. Honestly speaking, she was curious if Roxas could truly control pure darkness like he claimed. She wanted to see someone tame the power that not even hell could control.

"I…I don't know." Pyra said, feeling her voice chocking up a bit.

The instant she said those words, a pillar of darkness sprang from the ground. Everyone's eyes shot over to it, peering into the endless abyss with fright. However, it stayed for only a second before disappearing again, leaving behind a person standing there. A person with spikey blond hair.

Roxas just exited the corridor of darkness to see everyone in front of him. Kii was standing there, staring at him with wide eyes. Pyra was much in the same boat, but her mouth was dropped open.

Yukiko however was crouched down, her eyes red and puffy from all the tears she shed. She was staring up at him with the strangest expression he had ever seen. In fact, why were they all looking at him like that?

"…What?" Roxas asked curiously.

His words seemed to spark something in Yukiko because she shot forward so fast that not even Roxas saw it coming. She slammed into him with enough force to throw him off his feet before crashing painfully into a nearby tree.

"ROXAS!" She cried, burring her face into his coat and nearly crushing his ribs with her vice grip.

"…Ouch." Roxas said, feeling a small throbbing on the back of his head. "W-What happened? Why are you crying?"

 _BONK_

"Ouch!" Roxas exclaimed as he felt a fist collide with the side of his head. He looked up to see Pyra seething at him. Her eyes were glowing red with canine fury.

"Where the fuck were YOU?" She yelled, completely surprising the nobody.

"huh?" Roxas asked, clearly confused by the current situation. "What do you mean?"

"We thought you were dead! We thought the darkness consumed you?" Pyra shouted, grinding her teeth together.

"…Why would you think that? I told you I used the corridor before." Roxas said, rubbing the side of his head.

"Then where did you go? Why did you stay away for so long!"

Roxas frowned, his mind confuzzled as to why she was so angry. "I went to my room. I didn't come back because Kimihito was sick and I wanted to heal him."

Pyra was still grinding her teeth together. She wanted to pummel the boy for making her, yes, HER worry about him. She never worried about anyone. How dare this boy make her feel this way.

"P-Pyra said…Pyra said the darkness destroyed you! She said no one could control it." Yukiko's muffled voice said through his coat.

Looking down at her, he couldn't help but feel his heartstrings being tugged a little. Her entire body was shaking and her face was still pressed against this chest.

"…I thought I told you I would be fine if I wear this." Roxas said, pointing to his coat. "If I didn't have it, I wouldn't even try to use the corridor."

"Yeah, but you still worried us, your asshole." Pyra growled.

"…Didn't you guys tell me to do it?" Roxas asked, his eyebrow raised.

Pyra grumbled as she turned away from him, her arms crossed. She knew Roxas had a point, but she was still pissed off. For the entirety of almost 20 minutes, she thought he died. Worse, she thought she killed him by letting him enter the darkness.

"You're still and asshole."

"…Sorry?" Roxas tried, though he didn't know why he was apologizing.

"In any case…" Kii said, getting their attention. "Now we know that Roxas is safe and he can use this…pure darkness as you call it."

"I-I don't want you using that." Yukiko said as she looked up at him.

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous. Pyra said you could be destroyed." Yukiko said, clenching his coat.

Roxas looked at her flatly before resting a hand on the top of her head. She blushed a little at the contact.

"I also told you that this coat protects me from the darkness. I will be fine."

"…Promise?"

Roxas blinked a few times, staring into her hopeful and tear-filled eyes. "Yeah…I promise."

"Good!" She said as she suddenly buried her face into his chest again. Wrapping her arms around him and squeezing a bit harder.

"um…Can you let me up now?"

"Nope!"

Suu simply stared at Roxas as he tried to pry the reluctant Yeti off him. During the whole incident, she didn't worry once. Why? Because she knew he was alright. She saw other members of the organization use the Corridor safely. She saw that through his own memories.

Pyra looked down at the two, her mind still spinning. Roxas just proved that he could use the Pure darkness as a way to teleport. He just claimed to use it to get back to his house, which was almost an hour run from here. She didn't even know that Pure darkness could be used like that. But how? How was it possible for anyone to control it? How was Roxas able to do it?

"…What are you…Roxas?" She whispered.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Well, another chapter down. Not much with progression in this chapter, but it had a lot of revealing stuff in it. Now Kimihito knows some stuff as well as Pyra, Yukiko, Suu, and Kii. Again, sorry this chapter took a while, but I was having a hard time trying to motivate myself.**

 **So, what's this "Pure darkness" Pyra mentioned? Muahaha, you just have to wait and find out. Oh, and before I get a load of comments saying something like, "Kimihito was sick because he went out in the rain to find Suu! Not because he was exhausted!" I know. I just changed it because this is Fanfiction. And besides, if you do work too hard, your body does get sick.**

 **Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed, please let me know in a review.**

 **Until then.**


	10. Chapter 10: Day 26

**Authors Note: Well, here we are again with another chapter. I've been a little sick recently, so getting** **this out was a bit difficult. It's so hard to concentrate on writing when you can hardly keep your eyes open. Anyway, if you enjoy the chapter, please leave a review. Thanks.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 10

Day 26

 _A huge castle in the distance captured Sora, Donald, and Goofy's attention as they walked along the narrow strip of land. As they approached they couldn't help but marvel at the enormity of this structure._

 _Sora frowned slightly as he scaled the castle with his eyes, wondering what had drawn him here. For some reason, he felt as if this place was calling out to him._

 _While Donald and Goofy discussed if they should enter or not, Sora fearlessly walked forward, pushing open the massive white doors before strolling in. Donald and Goofy glanced at each other before hurrying after._

 _Inside, the walls and floor were encrusted with beautiful white marble decorations and pillars. White chiseled emblems hung on the walls, giving the whole look of the castle a more appealing vibe._

 _"_ _Hey, ya think it's ok to just barge in?" Goofy asked._

 _"_ _But we gotta do it, if we're gonna find the king." Donald responded._

 _"_ _The king!" Goofy exclaimed, looking around frantically. "The Kings here?"_

 _"_ _Something just told me he'd be here, ok?" Donald said, crossing his arms and giving a look that clearly told them not to question his judgement._

 _"_ _Really? Cuz' now that you mention it, I was kinda thinkin' the same thing." Goofy agreed._

 _"_ _Seriously? Me too! One look at this castle and I just knew, our very best friends, there here!" Sora consented._

 _"_ _A-Hulka." Goofy laughed. "I guess great minds think alike."_

 _"_ _Nah, I don't think that's the case in this situation."_

 _Sora Donald and goofy jumped slightly as they quickly turned to see someone standing in front of the slowly closing doors. The doors slid shut with a band. The person was wearing a black coat with a large hood._

 _"_ _Who are you!" Donald demanded, his staff already out._

 _"_ _Wow wow there, don't get your feathers all ruffled." The hooded man said as he took a few steps forward._

 _"_ _Answer us! Who are you?" Sora demanded, the Keyblade appearing in his grasp._

 _The hooded man stopped in his tracks, pausing for a brief moment before he reached up and lowered the hood. "So, you really can use the Keyblade. I guess Naminé wasn't bullshitting me after all."_

 _Sora raised an eyebrow as he took in the new person's features. He was tall, and had a head of spikey red hair. "H-How did you know about the Keyblade?"_

 _The man chuckled a bit. "Oh, you know. I knew someone a little while ago who could use one."_

 _Everyone's eyes widened a bit at his declaration. "Garsh, you did? Did his name happen' to be King Mickey?"_

 _A grin formed across the man's face. "Mayybee,"_

 _"_ _TELL US!" Donald shouted, waving his staff around dangerously._

 _"_ _Humph." The man huffed as the grin spread further across his face. "I'll tell ya what. I've been cooped up in this boring castle for a while now and it gets really dull, so..." he started as he suddenly whipped his arms to the side. Fire circled around his arms, trailing down his shoulders before reaching his hands. Two fire Chakrams exploded into existence. "You entertain me for a bit, and I might be willing to tell you what I know. How does that sound?"_

 _Sora narrowed his eyes and clenched the Keyblades handle a bit harder. "Who are you?"_

 _"_ _Name's Axel. I'm the guys who's in charge of castle oblivion, got it memorized?" The Nobody said as the entire room exploded in fire._

* * *

Roxas's eyes flew open as the intense dream came to a halt. He was sweating slightly as he replayed the dream a few times. The past coupleof nights had been pretty mellow, only consisting of Sora, Donald, and Goofy exchanging some friendly banter while walking down a dirt road in the middle of a grassy field.

However, his mind was on the fact that he actually saw Axel in the dream. There was no mistaking it. From his red hair, to his weapons, heck, even his signature catch phrase was all identical. What did it mean? Why was Sora meeting Axel? And what was Castle Oblivion?

"Roxas?"

Roxas glanced over to see Suu peering into his eyes with her emerald orbs. It was then that he noticed her feeler was attached to his head again.

"Are you alright?"

Slowly Roxas nodded, letting his thoughts on the matter rest for a bit. "Just an…intense dream."

Suu nodded as if she understood. "About…Sora again?"

Roxas blinked a couple times as he peered over at the slime girl, slowly nodding his head. "Yeah. How did you know?"

Suu's face courted in concentration as she tried to find words for it. "Suu can…Suu can see Roxas's dreams sometimes."

"You…Can?" he asked, causing Suu to nod.

"When Suu is…connected like this, she can sometimes see…fragments of Roxas's dream. Suu learns a lot when Roxas sleeps." She said.

"Is that so?" Roxas said, wondering how he was supposed to feel about this situation. He didn't realize Suu was doing that each time he caught her attaching her feeler to his head.

"So, then you know about Sora, Donald, and Goofy?" He asked, causing her to nod. "What about me? Do you…know about me?"

Suu cocked her head in confusion, not really understanding the question. "Roxas doesn't dream about Roxas."

"Interesting." Roxas murmured. "So, what do you think about these dreams?"

"They…They seem real." Suu replied, trying to find the best words to describe them.

"Yeah, I think so too."

* * *

The days seem to just fly by for the nobody as he sat in the middle of another lecture. Thank God Kitsuna was such a good teacher, or the novelty of attending school would have worn off by now. Currently, Roxas was scribbling down a couple notes as Kitsuna rambled on about some history of the exchange bill. Though the material was interesting, the study sessions with him, Yukiko, and Pyra had put them well beyond what the lesson was about.

However, Roxas did keep his mind busy with a growing thought. Ever sense he learned to use the Corridor of darkness, cleaning up the forest has never been easier. He would just open a Corridor to a nearby dump and they instantly had a way to dispose of all the trash. Kii was especially grateful, though you couldn't really tell by the look on her face. She always kept that same exact stare.

But using the Corridor to take out the trash was the last thing on his mind. For the past couple days now, Roxas had been thinking about Organization 13. And with the addition of his most recent dream, his old group was on the forefront of his mind more than ever. Now that he had a way to get back there, the thought of returning always tempted him. He was curious about the group that picked him up when he first awakened. It didn't mean he would stay with them, but he was rather curious as to what they were up to, especially Axel.

That thought had been growing in his mind quite a bit over the past few days. He wanted to know how Axel was doing, maybe even ask about his most recent dream. The Red-Head fire nobody was probably the one he spent the most time with. Seeing the rest of them didn't really interest Roxas, but then there was the newest member of Organization 13. He only met her briefly before this entire fiasco went down, but somehow, that hooded nobody left a strange impression on him.

"I wonder how they're doing." Roxas murmured to himself.

"Roxas!"

Roxas blinked as he looked up, noticing that the entire classroom was looking at him. Kitsuna's brow was twitching a little.

"Yes?"

"Is there something you would like to share with the class?" Kitsuna asked with a forced smile.

"…Not particularly, why?"

"Then I would apricate it if you wouldn't talk during the lecture." She chided before turning back to the rest of the class. "Alright, now all of you know this school was designed to incorporate Liminal into Human society…"

"Unfortunately," Kichi whispered, barely loud enough for most to hear, but with Kitsuna's enhanced hearing, she caught it easily. Her eyebrow twitched again as she continued.

"There is a rule here that students must join a club. I hope you all have thought about which one you would like to join because clubs are an essential part of the high school experience."

There was a round of groans as the bell run, signifying the end of the school day. Students began to pack up and converge into their little clicks once again, chatting about which club they would like to join.

Roxas also packed his books away before standing. It didn't take long before Yukiko and Pyra were by his side.

"You know Roxas, you really gotta stop spacing out in class. I think you're running Mrs. Kitsuna's patience pretty thin." Yukiko giggled.

"…I'll keep that in mind." Roxas said as he stepped away from the desk. "I didn't think she would hear me though."

"She's not the only one." Pyra said with an eyebrow raised. She threw her bookbag over her shoulder. "So, who were you talking about?"

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked as they began to exit the classroom.

"What you were saying in class. You wanted to see how someone was doing?"

"…You heard that?"

"Course I did. All Canine Liminal have a superior sense of hearing and smell. How do you think we track down the damned?" Pyra gloated. "But sometimes you really hear things you don't want to. The smell can be even worse."

"Such as?" Yukiko asked.

"My host masturbating in the other room." Pyra responded flatly.

Yukiko's face paled in disgust. "To much information."

"You asked."

"What's masturbating?" Roxas asked.

Pyra pursed her lips, trying desperately not to laugh her ass off. Yukiko paled even further as she claimed her hands around Roxas's mouth.

"SHHH! Don't say that so loudly." She exclaimed.

"Mmuy mot?" Roxas muffled voice said through her hands.

"Just…drop it for now Roxas." Pyra said, allowing a few giggles escaped her lips. "But seriously, who were you talking about?"

Seeing that the situation was avoided, Yukiko released her hold on the Nobody, allowing him to speak.

"I was talking about Members of Organization 13." Roxas said.

"Oh, you mean those guys that found you before Smith?" Pyra asked.

"Yep. I was wondering what they are doing since I last saw them." Roxas said as he threw his bad over his shoulder. "I kinda want to see what they are up too."

"Well…What's stopping you? It's not like you can't use Pure Darkness to get back right?" Yukiko asked.

"…I'm not sure what's stopping me." Roxas responded, a pondering look crossing his face. "Maybe I will see how they're doing someday."

"Hey, Losers!"

Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra all stopped and simultaneously sighed in annoyance as they looked up to see someone standing there, blocking there way.

"What do you want Kichi?" Roxas asked.

"Oh, I see you three are still inseparable." Kichi said with a sneer on her face. "Pretty disgusting if you ask me. I mean, my mind still can't fathom why you hang out with them."

"Does your mind fathom anything at all?" Pyra asked dryly.

Kichi narrowed her eyes at the Hellhound. "Watch it mutt," She hissed before crossing her arms. "So, which club are the three stooges going to join? The bestiality club?"

"Haven't decided yet." Roxas responded, ignoring her jab.

"Well it would suit you, that's for sure. Considering the company you keep."

"Piss off." Yukiko snapped suddenly. Her words caused Kichi to reel a bit. She did not expect that from the normally shy and kind Yeti.

"Well look at you." Kichi said in the most condescending voice she could muster. "Seems you finally grew a backbone. But that's besides the case. Roxas…" She said, looking straight at the nobody.

"What now?"

"I'm giving you one last chance. Me and a bunch of my friends are joining the swimming club." She said, a serious look in her eye. "I'm telling you to ditch these two and join with us. We could use another hottie in the club." She finished, a seductive smile crossing her face as she winked.

Yukiko was grinding her teeth, trying with all her might not to run up to this obnoxious girl and ring her neck…Wow, Pyra really was rubbing off on her.

Pyra was clenching her paws angrily, her eyes burning red with fury.

Roxas however was completely clam as he started to walk forward. Both Yukiko and Pyra's eye widened when they saw him approaching the girl.

Kichi grinned in satisfaction as she saw him walking toward her, thinking that she finally won him over. "That's what I thought." She said as she rushed toward him, attempting to capture his arm and burry it between her breasts. However, right when she tried, Roxas completely dodged her faster than she could see. She was sent stumbling, nearly falling flat on her face, her eyes widening in realization.

Roxas simply stopped as he looked over his shoulder at Yukiko and Pyra, who were still staring at him. Only this time, large grins covered their faces.

"Are you two coming?" he asked as he simply turned back and started walking down the hallway again.

Kichi's entire body began to shake with embarrassment and rage. Never, and I mean NEVER had someone managed to resist her so well, and even dodge her signature move that was guaranteed to capture the heart of any hormonal boy.

"Y-Y-YOU ASSHOLE!" She screeched. "I Gave you SOO many chances! Why?"

"Just give it up you little bitch." Pyra said, a giddy smile on her face.

"Yeah, Roxas isn't some shallow little toy that has to be a part of your collection." Yukiko said as she skipped past the stunned teen. To pour salt on the wound, she secured Roxas's arm much like how Kichi tried to do. The only difference was that Yukiko was successful. She looked over at Kichi and pulled down her eyelid while sticking out her tongue.

"Classic." Pyra laughed as she walked past Kichi. However, the hellhound made one quick swipe at angry girl with her claws.

Kichi instantly flinched, expecting to feel pain…but didn't. "W-What are you DOING? A Liminal can't attack a human! Y-You're going to get expelled for threatening me."

"Threatening you? I would never!" Pyra said dramatically. "I just had a muscle spasm. Oh, and you might want to get an extra pair of cloths soon."

Kichi was a bit confused until she noticed that huge sections of her uniform began to peel away. She screamed out in embarrassment as more chunks kept falling off her body. Soon, she was only in her panties and bra. Instantly, she tried to cover herself as she dashed away from the dynamic trio, screaming and crying out in outrage.

"T-That was AWESOME!" Yukiko exclaimed as she raised a hand to Pyra.

"I wanted to do that for ages." Pyra responded as she hi-fived the Yeti. She then looked over at Roxas. "You worried me there. For a second, I thought you were going to take her offer."

Roxas gave her a flat look as he raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?"

Pyra chuckled as she threw an arm around his neck. "Roxas, don't ever change."

Even though school was out, the campus grounds were littered with club booths. Students were passing out flyers and advertisements, beckoning other students to join their club. Most of the club presidents were seniors, trying to wrangle in the newcomers.

Pyra, Roxas, And Yukiko browsed around the different booths, but there weren't many that caught their attention. They did catch a glimpse of Kichi and her groupies dressed in skimpy little bikini's, trying to capture the attention of those around. She even spotted them, throwing the harshest glare she could muster. But it didn't affect them at all as they completely ignore her and walk away.

"Man, most of these clubs are so boring!" Pyra said, walking with her paws behind her head.

"I wanted to check out the cooking club." Yukiko wined as she tailed behind them.

"No way, besides, no one can beat bro's cooking."

"You mean Kimihito? Since when did you start calling him that?" Roxas asked.

Pyra paused as she thought about it. "Well, that's what old Yuki Yuki calls him, so it kinda caught on."

"Muu! Pyra, I don't like it when you call me that."

"So, what about you Roxas, any clubs interest you?" Pyra asked, ignoring Yukiko's puffed out face.

"Not particularly."

Pyra rolled her eyes at his lackluster response. "Should have guessed. But c'mon, you must like something."

Roxas paused and thought about the question. He liked to write, he liked sea-salt ice cream, and he liked…

"I like the sunset." He responded finally when he thought back to when he and Axel would sit atop of Twilight tower and eat ice cream…Though they only did that a couple times.

"The sunset huh? Well too bad there isn't a sunset club." Yukiko joked. "But still, it's hard to choose one to agree on."

They continued to walk round the different booths, trying to see what club the three of them could agree on, or at least tolerate doing. There was no question that they wanted to join the same club. However, after an hour or so of looking, they had yet to find anything that would interest the three of them. Eventually, they found themselves relaxing in the shade of the school building, talking about the different clubs.

"It seems we can't come to a consensus." Yukiko summarized as she sipped a juice box.

"Looks like it. Most of the clubs are kind of lame." Pyra agreed. "Not to mention most of the club leaders are senior humans."

"True, but there were a lot of Liminals recruited." Yukiko reminded.

"Yeah, but that's because they were forced to take them."

"Um…I don't think that's exactly true. There were quite a few that clubs that welcomed everyone." Yukiko argued.

"humph."

Roxas slowly sipped on his juice box as well, thinking back on all the clubs they visited. Honestly, the astronomy club looked interesting, but he already had the ability to visit different worlds instead of looking at them through a telescope. So, that was a no go.

"Um…Have you three already found a club?"

Yukiko, Pyra, and Roxas all glanced over to see a boy standing there. He looked nervous and extremely shy to be honest. He had semi-spikey orange hair and brown eyes. He was about their height as well.

"No, we haven't, what's it to ya?" Pyra growled.

Despite flinching a bit, the boy looked determined. "W-well, my name is Ichiro, a-and I was wondering if you three would be interested in joining my club." He shuddered.

The three glanced at each other before looking at the shy boy. "You have a club? Aren't you our age?" Yukiko asked.

"Yes…I'm actually in the same class as you three."

"You're kidding, how have I never seen you?" Pyra asked.

"I-It's because I sit in the back corner. I-I usually keep to myself." Ichiro said nervously as the Hellhounds piercing gaze landed don him. "And the club is one that I wanted to start. I'm the first member."

"Well, spill it, what club is it?" Pyra asked impatiently.

Again, Ichiro flinched a little. "I-It's the photography club. I-I decided to start one because the school doesn't have a photography club." He said as he showed them the expensive looking camera around his neck.

"Photography club?" Roxas asked.

Ichiro nodded, a bit of nervousness leaving his face. "Yes. We will be working with a lot of other clubs as well…Like taking pictures for the newspaper club and…other stuff. It'll be f-fun, so what do you say?"

Again, Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra all glanced at each other.

"Why do you want us?" Roxas asked.

"W-Well, I wasn't able to recruit anyone at the booth. And a club needs at least 5 members to be official. I-If I don't get at least 4 more people, then I can't start the club."

"I see." Roxas said. To be honest, photography did sound interesting. Considering there were so many things that were new experiences for him, maybe it might be a good idea to capture them in a photo.

"You know, that does sound Kinda fun." Yukiko said. "We get to interact with other clubs and take pictures."

"…It does seem pretty easy." Pyra mused as she glared over at Ichiro. "But even if we join, we still need one more person."

"T-True, but trying to find one more person is much more manageable than four." Ichiro responded with a hopeful look in his eye. "D-Does that mean you'll join?"

"Maybe." Pyra said. "But do you only want to use us to start a club?"

"Pyra~" Yukiko wined. "Why do you have to make things difficult."

"T-That's not the reason I asked you…Honest." Ichiro said before Pyra had the chance to respond. They all looked over at him curiously as he shuffled his feet a bit. "I approached you because…because I admire you three."

Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra blinked a few times, clearly surprised by his response.

"Huh?" Pyra said.

"Y-You three…You three go against the grain. You have no fear of bullies that mock you for being friends. You don't try to hide the fact that you enjoy each other's company. I-I really admire that about you three."

Yukiko felt her eyebrows scrunch a little as she heard his words. "I kind of sounds like you want to do the same."

"I do." Ichiro said, feeling a little ashamed. "I have nothing against Liminal, but…I'm afraid of being bullied."

"Coward." Pyra growled, causing Ichiro to flinch.

"Pyra!" Yukiko frowned.

"Can it, Yukiko." Pyra hissed back.

"No, she's right." Ichiro responded, causing Pyra to look over at him with an eyebrow raised. "I've been scared, heck, I am still scared of being bullied. I don't have many friends either."

"Well, at least you're honest about it." Pyra commented dryly. "So, which teacher is over this club?"

Ichiro looked up again, trying to regain his composure. "Mrs. Kitsuna volunteered. Since she's kinda new, she isn't over any other club currently."

Hearing this new information made the club sound that much more appealing.

"…You know, that doesn't sound bad." Roxas said suddenly.

Pyra and Yukiko looked over at him in surprise. "Really? You're showing some interest in this?"

"Yeah." Roxas responded. "Besides, we have to join a club anyway. Why not this one?"

"He has a point Pyra." Yukiko agreed. "plus, it would be nice to take some photos and sent them home to my family."

Pyra looked between Roxas and Yukiko a few times before glancing at the hopeful Ichiro. Truth be told, this shy boy seemed honest enough…that and Despite being afraid of bullies, he had the balls to approach them in the first place. Most people would avoid them for the simple fact that she was a hellhound. But this boy didn't, which gave him a couple measly brownie points.

"Well, if you two are game, then so am I."

Ichiro looked as if Christmas had come early. "You mean!?"

"Yeah, Sigh us up." Roxas said, a small smile creeping along the side of his mouth.

* * *

With membership to a club secured, Roxas, Pyra, and Yukiko all spend the next hour or so with Ichiro as he explained what he had in mind for the club. He even showed them there club room. It was a cozy size, but it was the best he could do because this was a new club. So far it was an empty room with a few different pieces of camera equipment scattered about, but Ichiro told them that it would be filled with more equipment soon enough. They also saw Mrs. Kitsuna, who was ecstatic that they decided to join the club.

While everyone was looking around the clubroom, Ichiro approached Roxas and asked the question that was plaguing his mind for a while now.

"Hey Roxas…"

"yeah?" Roxas responded, looking over at the boy.

"…how do you do it? In fact, how do you all do it?" Ichiro asked, getting Pyra and Yukiko's attention as well.

"Do what?"

"How do you deal with the bullying? I mean, they harass you guys every day."

Pyra and Kukiko looked at each other, but Road didn't even have to think about his answer.

"So?"

Ichiro blinked a few times. "What do you mean so?"

"I mean, so what if they call us names? So what if they harass us? Why should we care?" Roxas said simply.

"because…Because it's mean! They say some really bad things to you guys."

"It doesn't matter what they say." Yukiko responded kindly.

"I…don't understand."

Yukiko paused as she thought about how to answer this question. "I use to let their words get to me, but after I became friends with Roxas and Pyra, I didn't care about what they said anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because their opinion means nothing." Pyra said before Yukiko could finish. The Yeti puffed out her face in annoyance again, but Pyra continued. "Listen kid, the only opinion that should matter is one from those you know. And do you want to know a secret?" Pyra said with a grin.

"What?"

"The best way to get back at a bully is to ignore them. Show them that their words mean nothing. Trust me, it drives them crazy."

Ichiro thought back on the many times Kichi and her click tried to pick of Roxas, Pyra, And Yukiko, only to be blown off. Kichi's face would get so red with anger that she looked like she was going to erupt.

"But…I don't know if I can do that."

"That's kind of your choice." Roxas said.

"Huh?"

"Letting their words bother you, that's you choice. No matter how bad there words are, they're still just words. And we chose not to let it bother us."

Ichiro gave a small sigh. "You make it sound so easy."

"If you choose to make it easy, then it is."

Ichiro watched as Pyra, Yukiko, and Roxas walked away. He was grateful to them that they accepted his offer. Truth be told, it took a lot of guts to talk to them, especially since Pyra was constantly around. He wasn't going to lie, the Hellhound was intimidating, especially when he felt her eyes glued on the back of his head nearly the entire time.

Roxas was…a mystery. He didn't say much, but he was easy to talk to. Yukiko was the most talkative of the bunch. She was also by far the most cheerful and relaxed. Ichiro even blushed a little when she surprised him with a goodbye hug when they left. He certainly didn't expect that, especially since they had only known each other for about an hour.

That was something new for the boy. He could probably count the number of times he had been hugged by a girl his age on one hand.

Turning back to the school, Ichiro remembered that he had to pack up some of his own personal camera equipment before he left. That stuff was expensive, so he couldn't afford to leave it out like that.

While he was walking down the hall, he couldn't help but smile a little. Talking with those three was fun, and he even found himself laughing with them…though he did notice that the Hellhound was very wary of him. But in all honestly, he couldn't blame her. Considering the way she was treated here in school, and the fact that she knew the worst that humanity had to offer, he didn't blame her for her attitude. In fact, it kind of surprised him she was as chill as she was.

However, as Ichiro thought about those three, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of them. He was jealous that they fearlessly expressed their friendship even though it wasn't the most popular idea around campus. There were a few human's and liminal that were like them, but none that were as bold. They didn't keep it a secret that they would hang out after school every day, and even publicly laugh and banter with each other. Because of this, Ichiro did notice that they were picked on quite a bit more than the rest of the students, but true to their words, they choose to not let it bother them.

There courage was something to be admired…and envied. There were many times that he wanted to come to the aid of a bullied Liminal, but he was too afraid to stand up to the bullied. Everyone knew that if you stood up for one, then you were going to be there next target of their harassment.

Giving a small sigh, Ichiro knew Pyra was right when she called him a coward.

"Not a chance you cow."

"Um…I'm a Holstaurus."

"No one cares! We said no, now get the fuck out of here."

"Why not? I need a club!"

Ichiro frowned as he rounded a corner to where the voices were. There he saw some of the girls from the Swim team were talking down to one of the Liminal girls in his class. He knew that Holstaurus's were a subspecies of their Minotaur relatives, but they were much more gentle and quite a bit shorter.

"Why? Because you would drag us down with those huge boobs of you. I mean seriously, do you even think we have a swimsuit that would fit you?"

The Holstaurus girl grossed her arms over her chest as she blushed in embarrassment, though it did little to help cover her enormous assets.

"And we really don't need cow hair clogging up the pool, so the answer is NO!"

The Liminal girl's gaze lowered to the ground, a few tears peaking her eyes.

"Aw look, she's crying!" The girls laughed. "Just go back to the dairy farm where you belong. You look like you're due for another milking anyway."

Ichiro frowned again as he bit his lower lip. He really wanted to go out there and tell those girls off, but…

He shrunk back instead, letting his fear overcome his actions. He knew that if he stepped in, then word would spread that he helped a liminal, and that would make his life miserable.

Completely disgusted with himself, Ichiro turned to leave before anyone noticed him.

"Geeze, talk about disgusting. Did your mom fuck a cow or something?"

Ichiro halted in his steps. Though he was still scared, he found himself…angry. These girls were taking it way too far.

"I can only guess, I mean, how else was something like that supposed to be born?" Another girl agreed as she turned to the Holstaurus. "I mean, you have hooves, how does that happen? Tell me, did your mom suck his big bull testicles as well?"

Ichiro grit his teeth in anger. Even for bulling, there was a line you don't cross. His anger increased when he heard the Liminal girl start softly weeping.

Still, he was afraid. He didn't want the rest of his school life to be in the crossfire of bullies. But he also didn't want to continue hearing this kind of harassment.

 _"_ _No matter how bad their words are, they're still just words. And we chose not to let it bother us."_

Ichiro bit the side of his cheek when that phrase played through his mind. Words really did hurt a lot. Why did they make is sound too easy to deal with bullies?

 _"_ _If you choose to make it easy, it is."_

Ichiro took a deep breath, a determined look forming on his face. Turning back around, the boy summoned all the courage he could muster before walking down the hallways in the direction of the girls. They didn't even notice him until he spoke up.

"H-Hey, knock it off!"

All attention was turned to Ichiro. The girls bulling the Holstaurus narrowed their eyes at him while the Liminal girl looked at him, a confused look on her face.

"You got something to say?"

Ichiro felt himself falter a little, but he held firm. "Y-Yeah, I said stop."

The girls looked between each other before bursting out laughing. "Oh, this is rich! Looks like someone is defending the little cow."

Ichiro did his best to ignore them as he approached the Holstaurus. "A-are you ok?"

"Um…" The Liminal grim mumbled, wiping her tears away. "Y-Yeah."

"Hey, don't ignore us."

Having little time to think, Ichiro grasped the Holstaurus by the wrist. "C'mon, let's go."

"H-Huh?"

Ichiro didn't leave any room for arguing as he basically dragged the Liminal girl away. Angry yells of the other girls echoed down the hallways, but they were just ignored. Having no idea where else to go, Ichiro dragged the confused Liminal straight to the clubroom where he was going to go eventually. Soon, they entered the room and Ichiro slid the door closed before taking a deep breath.

He did it. He did it. He faced his fears of bullying and helped someone. Not to mention how amazing it felt to hear those their angry yells echo down the hallway. It seemed Pyra was right when you said that ignoring a bully was the best way to get back at them.

"Um…"

Ichiro blinked a couple times as he remembered that there was someone else in the room with him. He turned to the Liminal girl, finally getting the chance to get a good look at her.

She was indeed a Holstaurus. Her hair was a little less than shoulder length and mostly white with black highlights. She had two bone-white horns protruding from the side of her head, curling upward. Right below them were a pair of white cow ears. She also had bright green eyes that were full of confusion as they stared back at him.

Other than that, her torso seemed nearly identical to a human…expect for her enormous assets. Her lower half was very different though. From her hips, down, she had a layer of black and white fir cascading down her legs, which finally ended with a pair of hooves instead of feet.

Realizing that he was staring, Ichiro scratched the back of his head. "S-Sorry about that. I-I just didn't…I didn't mean too." He rambled, trying to find a reason for his earlier action.

The Holstaurus cocked her head a little, an unsure look on her face.

"What I mean to say is…are you alright?" Ichiro wanted to face-palm himself because he already asked that question. He really was bad at small talk.

"Um…yeah. I'm ok now." The Liminal girl said quietly.

"G-Good. G-Glad you're not crying anymore." Even Ichiro had to cringe at what just erupted from his mouth. Smooth.

The Holstaurus blushed a little out of embarrassment, rubbing her hands together nervously in front of her. The atmosphere was incredibly awkward.

"Well, I-I gotta pack some of my equipment up." Ichiro said, attempting to break the unbearable silence.

"Equipment?" The Liminal girl asked

"Yeah. This is the official Photography club." Ichiro said. "Well…almost officially."

The Holstaurus glanced around the room at the various camera equipment such as tripods and lenses. "This is the Photography clubroom?"

"Yep, started it all on my own." Ichiro said as he packed away a few different camera lenses away.

"T-That's really cool. I wanted to start a farming club…but no one wanted to join."

"A farming club huh?" Ichiro said, glancing over his shoulder. "I guess you couldn't get the amount of members needed to make it official either."

The Holstaurus's gaze dropped a little. "No…I wasn't able to." She whispered before something occurred to her. "Oh, I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Callie."

"…I know. We're in the same class." Ichiro said, feeling a little bummed out because he was so unnoticeable. This was the second time he had to explain this to his classmates.

Callie flushed in embarrassment again. "Oh, I'm so sorry…. Wait, you are?"

Ichiro's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, but don't worry about it. Not many notices me because I sit in the far corner near the door. My name is Ichiro by the way."

"Ichiro." Callie murmured. "It's n-nice to meet you and…"

Ichiro glanced over at her, noticing that a couple tears were trailing down the side of her cheek. She was rubbing her left arm with her right.

"Thank you…for helping me."

Again, despite being afraid at first, Ichiro was happy he made the decision to help her out. Just seeing the tears of gratitude was enough to pull at his heartstrings. "Y-You're welcome…Do they do that often?"

Callie nodded as she wiped her tears away. "When I knew the Farming, club wasn't going to be a thing, I tried to join a few others. I got turned down…a lot."

Again, Ichiro felt sorry for this girl. He knew that Liminals would have a hard time with this club requirement, especially since most of the club leaders were senior human students.

"Well…If you're interested, my club still needs one more member before it is official." Ichiro suggested.

Callie's gaze shot up at him, her eyes wide. "W-What? Really?"

Ichiro nodded. "With you, we would have 5 people total with Mrs. Kitsuna as our teacher. So…If you want…"

"Are you kidding me? I would love too!" Callie exclaimed, clasping her hands together in front of her breast.

Ichiro was ecstatic. Now they had 5 members total. "Awesome!"

"Thanks so much!" Callie exclaimed, nearly leaping up and down with excitement, however, her face courted in pain as she wrapped her arms around her chest. "Ouch!"

Hearing her small squeal of pain caused Ichiro to raise an eyebrow. "Are you ok?"

"um…yeah…it's just…" Another blush crossed her face as she looked up at the boy. "Um…I know we just met…but can you do me a huge favor?"

* * *

Roxas, Pyra, and Yukiko didn't know what to think as they watched Smith drag two tied up men out the front door. When she was about to pass them, she noticed there looks of curiosity which caused her to laugh.

"Don't ask, darling will tell you the whole story. Let's just say some stuff when down while you kiddies were away at school." Smith said as she threw the two men into the back of her car.

"…It's never boring at your house." Pyra said simply as she watched Smith's car bounce down the road.

"I second that." Yukiko agreed.

Roxas didn't say anything as he turned to the door and opened it. As per usual, the three received a joyful hug from Suu as they made their way to the kitchen. Seeing the scene raised a few eyebrows. Surprisingly, Miia was cooking this time. She was boiling eggs again…because it was the only food she could prepare that was edible.

Kimihito was sitting in the chair and Papi was clinging onto him as if her life depended on it. She had the most satisfied smile on her face as she rubbed against her host. Mero and Centorea were also there, but they were screaming at Miia for some reason. Something about boiling Papi's egg…or something along those lines.

"So…We just saw Smith a second ago…Why was she dragging two people out the front door?" Roxas asked, catching everyone's attention.

"Oh, welcome home you three." Kimihito said, trying to adjust his arm, but Papi was having none of it. She just clamped down harder.

"Hey big bro!" Yukiko said as she skipped over to the man and threw her arms around his neck from the back. She would usually do this to greet the human. "So, what happened?"

"Well…" Centorea started. "It all started when Papi told us she was going to lay an egg…"

"Whoa, hold the phone." Pyra said, glancing at Kimihito. "Bro, you Popped Papi's Cherry?"

"What-NO!" Kimihito exclaimed, his face doing a very good imitation of a tomato "It was unfertilized!"

"OH, and here I though you actually grew a pair and made a choice. How silly of me."

"…Brutal." Kimihito murmured in depression.

"Awe! Cheer up bro, I'm just messing with ya." Pyra laughed as she walked over and elbowed him in the side.

"I know."

"Anyway!" Centorea said loudly, trying to get back on track. She spent the next half hour explaining the entire situation to everyone. When she was done, Pyra gave a small snort.

"So, if I'm hearing this correctly, A man came in and told you he was filming a documentary and wanted to film…Papi laying an egg, right?" She asked, getting a round of nods. "Wow…And you were stupid enough to believe him?"

"Hold it right their young lady!" Centorea said, asserting her voice. "The man had very convincing evidence to support his claim."

"Ok mom," Pyra said, rolling her eyes. "But he said he wanted to film Papi laying an egg for educational purposes. Doesn't that sound just a little bit ridiculous."

"Well…When you put it like that…" Mero said.

Pyra just face-palmed. "Just be careful. If I were here, I would have spotted that lie a mile away."

"Well excuuuse us." Miia said in annoyance. "Despite that, Darling was so cool. The way he punched him right in the face, it was so sexy."

"Um…Yes, that was very attractive." Centorea agreed, a small blush dotting her cheeks.

"I have a question." Roxas said suddenly, getting everyone's attention. "What does Popping the Cherry?"

After that question, let's just say everyone was either rolling around on the floor laughing, blushing in embarrassment, or holding back Miia as she tried to explain the concept of the birds and the bees to this poor unfortunate soul.

* * *

When nighttime finally rolled around, Roxas was walking home after dropping off Yukiko and Pyra. As usual, they spend the day studying, playing games with everyone in the house, and eating dinner. However, they decided it wasn't a good idea to spend the night again. Apparently, Yukiko expressed that her host was pretty pissed off she slept over the Friday before without letting him know.

On that topic, Roxas noticed that whenever the topic of Yukiko's host would pop up, the girl was very reluctant to share any information about him. She always changed the topic, which was strange for her. She was usually an open book, wearing her emotions on her sleeve in the most outgoing way possible. This was the only topic she tried to avoid.

Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to let it go for now. If she didn't want to talk about it, then he wasn't going to force her to. The most he could do was get her away from that place as often as he could.

With that thought, Roxas frowned as he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. He had to take a moment and think about everything that had happened to him in the past few weeks. The amount he was learning about the heart was beyond anything he thought possible. It was even to the point where he…noticed things about himself. He started to notice that he reacted to different scenarios, much like how…

How a person with a heart would react.

But how? How was that possible? Nobodies didn't have hearts, they didn't truly exist…Right? But if that's true, then why should he even care about Yukiko? Why should he care about Pyra, Kimihito, Miia, Mero, Centorea, Or Papi? But even the thought of leaving them forever and going back to the Organization caused a…pain in his chest. It was that feeling the grounded him here in this world now.

Imagining a life without his friends was…terrifying. But if Nobodies weren't supposed to have hearts, then why was he feeling this way? Why was he feeling at all?

"I-I don't have the answer to these questions." Roxas said to himself as he looked up into the starry sky. "But I know someone who might." He finished as he started walking down the sideway again to his house. If there was anyone who might be able to answer his questions, it might just be the one who told him that Nobodies didn't have hearts in the first place.

Xemnas.

He needed to go back to the organization and ask him. He needed some answers, and Xemnas was the most knowledgeable of the Nobodies. Of course, before he did that, he needed his coat so he could use the Corridor of darkness.

Upon reaching the house, he perked an eyebrow as he noticed Suu and Papi picking up some groceries that were lying around on the ground. As he approached, he knelt at picked up a few things too.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, we found this food outside the house, so we're taking it inside." Suu said with a cheerful smile.

Roxas frowned a little with his eyebrow quirked. "Where did it come from?"

"I have no idea." Papi said as she and Suu entered the house. Roxas was about to as well before he noticed something else on the ground among the food.

A shoe.

Not only any shoe, but the ones Kimihito would usually wear. Why in the world was his shoe out here along with a bunch of groceries?

When entering the house, Roxas noticed that Smith was here again. She was showing the girls a piece of paper. Shrugging, Roxas walked past them and placed the food on the kitchen counter.

"Um…Where did you guys get that?" Miia asked.

"Oh, there was a bunch of food laying outside the house. We're just bringing it in with Roxas's help." Papi said cheerfully as she went outside to pick up the rest.

Roxas walked up to them with the shoe in his hand. "Um…Where's Kimihito? I found this laying outside." He said, showing everyone in the room the shoe.

Everyone stared at the shoe, a single though passing through everyone's mind. Their eyes widened drastically

"W-WHAATT!"

Roxas flinched as everyone seemed to lose all self-control. They were freakin out for some reason, frantically screaming and waving their arms around like a chicken with its head cut off.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked.

"Darling…Darling ran to the store just after you left! He was trying to get there before they closed and he isn't back yet!" Miia exclaimed as she pointed to his shoe. "He's been kidnapped!"

Roxas felt his heart drop to is stomach as those words echoed through his mind. Instantly, his he remembered that strange feeling of leaving his friends behind. He was now feeling that pain in his chest, and he didn't like it.

"How do you know he was kidnaped?" Roxas asked, trying to calm himself down.

Smith held out the paper to him. "We recently got a call that a Liminal was hurting a human. Turns out that same human was the one that tried to film Papi earlier today. The liminal Girl escaped, but she left this behind."

Roxas glanced at it as his eyes widened a bit more. "That's our address."

Smith nodded as she turned to the rest of the group. "Alright everyone, we need to calm down and think about this." Smith said, trying to secure their attention "Since this paper with your address on it was in the hands of a Arachnera, then that species is our prime suspect." She said as she turned to Roxas. "Where did you fin…"

He was gone already.

"…Where did he go?" Smith asked, looking around the room.

* * *

Roxas wasted no time as he sprinting down the sidewalk with Kimihito's shoe in his hand. He just barely threw on his coat before leaping out the window, his anger boiling over as he thought about how someone might be hurting his friend. He needed to find him right now because he couldn't stand this horrible feeling.

* * *

Pyra gave a yawn as she laid down on her bed. She was dressed in only a white shirt and a pair of panties as her sleepwear. As she lay there, reflected on all that had happened that day. All in all, today had been another nice day for the Hellhound. She noticed she was having so many more of those since she started hanging out with Roxas and Yukiko. She rarely saw her host family anymore, which was a plus, and her grades were improving dramatically.

As she lay in bed, waiting for sleep to take over, her ear twitched when she heard a sudden clink on her window. Deciding to ignore it, Pyra tried again to fall into peaceful slumber.

 _CLINK_

Her ear twitched again as she growled. It may not have been that loud for a normal person, her hears were much more sensitive.

 _CLINK CLINK_

Pyra's eyes shot open in anger as she jumped from her bed and stormed over to the window. "What the fuck is doing that?" She growled. However, when she got closer, she noticed that someone was crouched in the tree next to her window.

 _ClINK_

The figure threw another pebble at the glass, making the obnoxious sound she'd been hearing. Who in their right mind was sitting at her window?

The answer came when she got close enough. The figures form melted into that of Roxas as he crouched on the nearest tree branch wearing his black coat. She perked her eyebrow as she opened the window.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Pyra asked curiously. Usually when she looked at Roxas, his face was calm and nearly emotionless. It was actually very hard to tell how he was feeling besides a small smile here and there. However, this time, his face was a very easy to read. It was almost on the verge of panic.

"…I need your help." He said, his words filled with desperation.

It was so surprising to the Hellhound that she didn't even comment on why he was perched outside her window like a squirrel. "Come in then, I guess." Pyra said, moving to the side to let him in.

Roxas nodded as she jumped into the room, landing softly on the wood floor. He stood and turned toward her. Opening his mouth to say something, he paused as he noticed the way she was dressed. A small blush formed on his face as he felt his heart beat a little faster. Why was his body reacting this way? He didn't have time to be distracted, Kimihito was in danger!

"So, you didn't come here to just stare at me, did you?" Pyra asked with a grin, crossing her arms to make her breasts more prominent.

"Oh…" Roxas said, shaking his head. "Pyra, Kimihito's been kidnapped."

Pyra blinked a couple times as she unfolded her arms, a frown crossing her face. "Wait, you're serious?"

Roxas nodded as he held up the single shoe that he took with him. "I-I remember you telling me you had a good sense of smell. Could you…help me find him?"

"Awe man, I was hoping for some action." Pyra joked, though it wasn't very satisfying because Roxas didn't know what she was talking about. However, she looked down at the shoe in disgust. "Couldn't you find something better?"

"I didn't have time." Roxas responded. "Please Pyra."

Pyra growled a little. "Find, hold you're horses though. Let me get changed really quick."

Roxas nodded as he watched Pyra walk around the room, finding a pair of black workout shorts before pulling them on. She didn't even seem to care that he was watching the entire time, his heart facing a little faster as she hitched the shorts over her ass before forcing her bushy tail through the hole at the top.

"Enjoying the show?" Pyra asked, glancing over her shoulder. Truth be told, she was a little surprised to see a little red dotting Roxas's cheeks considering he didn't know what sex was…But then again, he was still a boy. It did boost her confidence to think he was attracted though.

"What show?" Roxas asked.

"Never mind." Pyra retorted as she walked back over to him and extended her paw. "You owe me big time for this." She said as Roxas placed the Shoe in her paw. She cringed a little as she took a tiny smell. Instantly, she threw the shoe back at him and growled. "Disgusting."

"Well?"

"Give it a minuet." Pyra said as she lowered her paws and started to sniff the air. "I need to pick of a trail…but we can't do it in here."

"Then let's go." Roxas said as he turned back to the window and leaped out without any hesitation. Pyra stood there for a few seconds before a small smile creeped long her mouth. She didn't expect her night to go like this, but she wasn't complaining either. This sounded interesting.

It was on their way back to Kimihito's house that Pyra suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. She took a deep inhale as she looked around the dark town.

"I picked up a trail."

Roxas looked over at her hopefully. "And."

"Follow me. I should be able to find them pretty quickly." Pyra said as she turned and started running down the alleyway, Roxas hot on her heals.

It was a difficult trail to follow though as whoever kidnapped Kimihito used the rooftops, but Pyra's excellent sense of smell lead them through the town before they found themselves approaching a cluster of abandoned warehouses.

"This looks like the place." Pyra said as she sniffed the air again.

"Which one?" Roxas said, his teeth clenched.

Pyra was about to answer before they noticed a scrawny looking police officer hightail it out of one of the warehouses. His flashlight was waving back and forth in his hand as he ran away.

"Odd, that was the exact warehouse where the trail is leading." Pyra said. "We should be careful though, whoever kidnapped Bro is probably holding him hostage. We should make a plan…"

The second Roxas heard that this was the place Kimihito was being held, he didn't listen to anything else Pyra said. He whipped his hand to the side and summoned the Keyblade to his grasp. Before the Hellhound could say anything else, Roxas took off in the direction of the door to the warehouse before drawing his Keyblade back.

"Strike Raid."

Pyra's' eyes widened as he literally threw the Keyblade. It soared through the air at an incredible speed before slamming into one of the windows, completely shattering the glass.

"R-ROXAS! HOLD ON! Pyra yelled after him, but it was far too late. Roxas was long gone, sprinting at the new opening before leaping through. The Hellhound even swore she saw flecks of light emit from his body.

* * *

At this point, Kimihito was use to strange encounters like this. From being tied up by Miia, kidnapped by Papi, ran over by Mero, and nearly suffocated by Centorea, he didn't think anything could surprise him anymore. Ironically, this Arachnera named Rachnera had almost done all those things to him in one night. Now he was sitting in front of this large Liminal as she told him her past experiences with her previous host family. It made him angry to think they would just sell her off like that, but the instant he voiced his opinion, she made it clear she didn't want his pity. In fact, she claimed he was just another hypocrite, only attracted to the human half of her body.

"No…Well…those legs of yours, how should I put it. Well…" Kimihito said, gazing at the giant spider legs. "I think they're charming."

Rachnera stared down at the human, disbelief in her eyes. She couldn't believe what she just heard, but seeing the look on this man's face, it was so obvious that he had some sort of leg fetish. It was hilarious considering she had eight of them. It was so funny that she let out a giggle.

"You pervert."

 _BAM!_

Both Kimihito and Rachnera jumped at the sudden sound of breaking glass before instantly looking at the nearby window. The window was completely blasted to pieces as a glowing spinning object shot through it. However, the disk suddenly halted before retracting, almost like a boomerang. It sailed back before a figure leaped through the window and snatched it out of the air. Rachnera and Kimihito stared at the figure as its shape began to be more recognizable.

Standing there was a boy with spikey blond hair. He was young, maybe about 15 years old and wearing a black coat. His crystal blue eyes were fixed on them and engulfed in the flames of burning anger.

The Spider Liminal was beyond confused as she watched this new person enter the scene. Who in the world was he?

Kimihito recognized him instantly though. How in the world did Roxas find him? Seeing another person jump through the window after Roxas was the answer to his question though. The dark-skinned Hellhound stood next to him, observing the situation with her claws extended.

Roxas gazed around the abandoned warehouse before he spotted Kimihito sitting there in front of a…Spider person. He could only guess this was a Liminal based on her lower body. Her upper body was that of a woman, but her lower had eight legs and an enormous backside, much like a spider.

However, Roxas didn't spend that much time taking in her features. Instead, he only had one thought on his mind.

This was the one who kidnapped Kimihito.

With that single though, Roxas extended the Keyblade at this Liminal creature. "Fire."

Both Kimihito and Rachnera's eyes widened as a massive blaze erupted from the tip of the strange weapon. It shot straight at Rachnera, who was barely agile enough to dodge. She jumped up into the rafters, gazing down at Roxas with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

Roxas didn't answer as he drew back the Keyblade again. "Strike Raid." He threw the weapon again, letting it sail at the Liminal. Though, for her size, this woman was very mobile. She managed to skillfully scale along the rafters to avoid another strike at her. The Keyblade cut straight through the beam before returning to Roxas hand. Waiting no time, the Nobody leaped up into the rafter after the spider before extending his Keyblade again. "Blizzard!"

Rachnera only had time to peak over her shoulder as she saw a wave of ice instantly freeze most of the beams behind her. She leaped from the rafters, using her spider silk to swing away. However, Roxas threw the weapon again, easily slicing through the stands of silk that supported her weight.

Rachnera panicked as she crashed to the floor painfully, though she tried to roll over and regain her balance. However, she winced as she felt major joint pain on one of her legs. She landed badly on one, making it hard to move. She looked up in the rafters, trying to catch a visual on the boy, but he was already gone.

Looking around frantically, she spotted him just a few feet away, already pointing his weapon at her. The tip was gleaming red, ready to shoot another…something at her. She didn't have time to see what it was, only that she knew it would be fatal is it landed.

"ROXAS STOP!"

Rachnera's eyes widened as she saw the human who she kidnapped stand right in front of her, his arms spread open protectively.

Kimihito was done watching. When he saw Roxas preform such a powerful and deadly spell, he knew that it could do some damage if Rachnera got hit by it. Seeing the fury in his eyes, Kimihito knew the boy wasn't going to stop on his own. Though he wasn't very happy about what Rachnera did, it didn't mean she needed to get hurt. Seeing Roxas literally drive her into the ground was too much.

"What are you doing?" Roxas growled. "She kidnapped you!"

"I know, but you're taking this way too far." Kimihito said back, a stern look on his face.

"What do you mean? I came here to save you." Roxas hissed back.

"You're going to hurt her Roxas! You could have killed her!"

"So?"

"…" There was a pregnant pause from everyone in the room. Even Pyra was a bit shocked he admitted that he was trying to kill her so easily.

"So? What do you mean so? Would you have really killed her Roxas?"

"Yes. She kidnaped you. She could have hurt you!" Roxas growled back, glaring at the spider.

Kimihito couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sure, he knew Roxas had amnesia, but everyone had some hesitation about taking life. But seeing Roxas fight, there was no hesitation in his movements. He was trying to Kill Rachnera.

"I'm disappointed in you Roxas." Kimihito said, a frown crossing his face.

For some reason, those words really pierced through the nobody like a hot poker. So much so, that he even relaxed his stance, his eyebrows curling upward slightly. "W-What?"

"You heard me. I'm disappointed you wouldn't hesitate to take a life. Do you know how horrible that is?"

Again, his words cut deep as Roxas felt his heart grow heavy. "I-I don't get it. Why is it bad? She took you away! I-I just…"

"Roxas stop!" Kimihito said, finally having enough. "Just go home, we will talk later."

"But…What about…"

"Go Roxas!" Kimihito said, I harsher then he meant.

Roxas didn't know what he did wrong. Kimihito was obviously mad at him for some reason. All he wanted to do was help, but now he was told to go away. It didn't make any sense. Kimihito was in trouble, wasn't he? Wasn't this Liminal the bad guy here? And why did his words hurt so much?

Without another word, The Keyblade vanished from Roxas's grasp. He hesitated for a moment, his head dipped a little, causing his bangs covering his eyes as he turned to the open doorway and slowly started to walk out, not even sparing them another glance.

Seeing Roxas like that, Kimihito felt a little bad for saying what he did, but he still couldn't believe what Roxas just said. How could someone have no hesitation when taking a life? Even if they were a kidnapper? The thought was frightening.

Pyra looked between Roxas and Kimihito a couple times. She didn't know what to think about this situation, but she followed Roxas out the door. He was the only reason she could be out anyway. As she followed him out the door, she though back on what Bro said. Sure, she could see Kimihito's point of view, but she was use to death. Her kind hunted the damned. But she also knew that humans greatly valued life. She could understand why Kimihito was so startled by what Roxas did.

But on the other hand, it truly seemed as if Killing the Arachnera was the only option that came to Roxas's mind. This was the only time she had ever seen him that mad…besides the time she tried to hurt Yukiko. Remembering that still caused her to rub her wrists a little. She knew that if someone threatened anyone Roxas cared about, they would be in for a world of hurt.

As Kimihito and Arachnera watched the two walk out of the Warehouse, Kimihito gave a sigh. He turned to the Arachnera, who was using her 7 other legs to keep weight off the injured one. He felt a little ashamed she had to go through that because he didn't stop Roxas fast enough. Then again, he had no idea Roxas would find them anyway.

"Who was that?" Rachnera asked, wincing as she felt a small jolt of pain in her leg.

"That…was Roxas. He's one of the Liminal I host."

Rachnera narrowed her eyes a little at him. "So, you called him when I was distracted?"

"No." Kimihito said, shaking his head. "He must have asked Pyra to help him."

"Pyra? Oh, you mean the hellhound that was there? That was his friend?" Rachnera asked, her eyes a bit wider.

"Yeah." Kimihito chucked. "Roxas makes some interesting friends. Pyra always comes over for dinner."

"A Hellhound huh. Strange, they usually hate humans as much, if not more than I do." She said curiously.

Kimihito chuckled a bit at her words. "Yeah, you should have seen her when we first met. I swear, if looks could kill…" he trailed off as he looked out the door in the direction that Roxas left. "But now, it's like she's part of the family."

"hum…Interesting." Rachnera said, draping her arm around his neck. "That was pretty impressive that you protected me like that. Do you have some kind of white knight complex?"

"N-No!" Kimihito said, his face growing red as he felt Rachnera's breasts press against the back of his head. "I just did what I could to…stop him."

"Well, my hero." Rachnera said with a smile. "But tell me, what is he? I haven't seen magic that powerful in a LONG time."

Kimihito's gaze dropped a little. "Roxas has amnesia. Even he doesn't know what he is. Heck, he told me he learned magic recently, but I haven't seen him use any other kind of magic besides his cure spell."

"Cure spell? He can heal?" Rachnera asked, her eyes narrowing again. "How do you know?"

"Because he healed me when I was sick." Kimihito said, now feeling a little bad about how he snapped at Roxas.

"Well, I will say that I haven't seen bloodlust like that in a long time. He must have been really worried." Rachnera said, knowing how her words would make the human feel.

True to how she though, her words did nothing but make Kimihito feel even worse about what he said. "Even if you're worried, there is no excuse for killing someone."

"True" Rachnera agreed. "But considering you said he has amnesia, I don't know if he could think of another way to help you." She finished before she paused. "Hold on, why is our topic of conversation suddenly about him? I thought this whole thing was supposed to be about poor ol' me."

Kimihito looked over at the spider woman, his eyebrow raised. "Considering you were almost killed by him, I think it's a good excuse.

 _WE'VE GOT THE BUILDING SURROUNDED!_

* * *

The last thing smith thought she would see was Roxas and Pyra walking out of the abandoned warehouse where they received a report about some suspicious activity. She saw the two young one's approach before stopping them.

"What are you two doing here?"

Roxas didn't answer. He kept his head dipped to the ground, his mind and heart racing as Kimihito's words played through his mind. He didn't even look up at Smith as he walked past her.

"W-Hold up!" Smith called out to him, but he didn't seem to hear her words. So seeing that she wasn't going to get his attention, she turned her gaze to the Hellhound who was following close behind. "What happened?"

Pyra pursed her lips a bit as she glanced at Roxas's retreating form. "Don't worry about it. By the way, Kimihito's just fine." She said as she hurried after the nobody.

Her words only served to confuse the underpaid coordinator as she watched them walk away into the night.

The walk back to Pyra's house was completely silent. Pyra walked beside the nobody, only stealing a few glances here and there, but his emotionless expression didn't change. His face wouldn't usually have much emotion on it in the first place, but this was different. She could tell that Kimihito's words bothered him quite a bit.

Giving a frustrated sigh, she stopped and grabbed his sleeve to stop him as well. He stopped too, but didn't look over at her. They stood there for a few moments in awkward silence while Pyra tried to figure out what to say. But nothing came. She cursed, realizing that she wished Yukiko were hear. The energetic Yeti would have been able to say something.

"Roxas."

Roxas still didn't look over at her, but inclined his head slightly to show he was listening.

She scratched back of her head in frustration, trying to say anything. "Why are you acting like this?" Smooth.

This time, Roxas looked over at her, his eyes filled with confusion. "You know what? I don't know either. I…I just didn't like what he said."

Pyra raised her eyebrow as she huffed. "And here I thought nothing could get under your skin."

"That makes two of us." Roxas responded, looking up into the stars. "I don't know why, but his words…hurt. I-I'm not supposed to feel this way. I'm not supposed to feel at all." He whispered, but Pyra's canine ears pick it up easily.

"What do you mean?"

Roxas closed his mouth, realizing that he may have said to much. He looked back at her expecting eyes, but he simply looked away. "I-I can't say."

Pyra narrowed her eyes a little. "Why not? You're not hiding something, are you?"

Roxas glanced in her direction, before averting her gaze and keeping his silence.

"…You are."

Roxas nodded once. He didn't see the harm in letting her know that. "There are things about me that you don't know."

Pyra looked unimpressed. "Well, join the club. We all have secrets Roxas, both me and Yukiko."

A tiny smile formed on Roxas's lips. "I guess so, huh?"

"So, this secret explains why you're feeling so down that Kimihito scolded you?"

"Probably. It's all so confusing. Ever since I got here, I've learned so much about the heart…" Roxas trailed off, realizing that he was saying way too much again. "I just don't understand the way I feel. I-I'm so confused."

Pyra didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about. It really didn't make any sense to her. "Well, there are people willing to answer your questions."

Roxas shook his head the negative. "They wouldn't understand. No one would be able to understand besides…"

"Besides?"

It was then that the same idea he'd been having for the past few days returned to Roxas. There was only one group of people that would understand his position and maybe answer his questions.

Pyra really didn't like the look of realization that crossed Roxas's face. She watched as he looked up at her with a newfound determination.

"I-I will take you home now." Roxas said, turning away from his hellhound companion and walking down the road.

Pyra stared at his back, a little perturbed he changed the subject and left her hanging like that. Still, she had a bad feeling in the pit of her gut. Something about the look on Roxas's face was very unsettling.

It didn't take that much longer before they were standing outside Pyra's house. The window was still open, but the rest of the lights were out, signifying that everyone else was probably still asleep.

"Well, this was an adventure." Pyra said, glancing over at the still pondering Nobody. He hadn't said a peep for the rest of their walk home. "You still owe me Roxas."

Roxas looked up at her. "What do you want?"

"I want two things." She started, raising her paw and extending two fingers. "First, I want you to get over what Kimihito said. It's pathetic by letting what he said get to you."

"…"

Roxas didn't respond to that, which allowed her to continue. "And second…" She suddenly rushed up to him, clasping his face with one paw and dragging her claw down the other. A small cut formed which leaked a small amount of blood. Grinning, the hellhound ran her tongue along the side of the cut, giving a small moan of satisfaction. She even pressed her body against his, creating zero space between them and wrapped both her arms around his neck.

All thoughts of how he was feeling was suddenly gone. The sheer shock he felt was enough to stun the nobody. Sure, Pyra did this once before, but this was much more sensual, especially the way she was abusing is cheek with her tongue.

After a few seconds, Pyra pulled back, giggling as she saw the dumbfounded expression on his face. "Still delicious. I will be looking forward to next time, Roxas." She said with a wink as she leaped up into her window.

Again, Roxas was stunned. His heart was pumping dramatically as he thought about what she just did. The way her soft body felt against this and the strange tingling sensation of her tongue against his cheek was…something he didn't know how to describe.

But again, why was he feeling this way? Why was he feeling at all? Why did Kimihito's words bother him so much? Why did he feel these strange things when Pyra and Yukiko were around? Why?

These were questions that no one on this world could answer for him. And that only left one option. Turning away from the house, Roxas walked down the street a few blocks before turning into an alleyway. Closing his eyes, he extended his hand and focused the darkness. The Corridor sprang up in front of him.

As he gazed into the wispy entrance, he could only hope that he would be able to return to this world soon. After all, just thinking about leaving was…painful. He didn't want to leave his life here. His school, his new club, his housemates, and his friends. they had become…important.

But he needed to know what was going on. He needed answers. So, with those thoughts in mind, Roxas walked through the Corridor of Darkness.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Hey Yawl, hope you enjoyed the chapter even though it left off at a cliffhanger. But the chapter was long enough, and I had to cut it here. Now a lot of you will probably say that Kimihito was a little OOC. While this is true, remember that this is Fanfiction. Things will be different and you just have to accept that. Not everything is going to be exactly the same as the manga. That's just Fanfiction for you.**

 **Ichiro is based of off Yuuki Rito from To love ru. There will be more of him and Callie in the future. Also, the photography club was a suggestion from a reviewer of one of my past chapters. He suggested it as a hobby, and the more i thought about it, the more i liked the idea.**

 **If you enjoy this story, please show your support by leaving a review. It's greatly appreciated, more than you know because it lets me know that you guys really do enjoy this story. So, if you do enjoy it, remember to leave a review. Thank you and look forward to next chapter.**

 **Until then.**


	11. Chapter 11 : Day 26 & 27

**Authors Note: Hello everyone! As you can tell, this chapter is a bit shorter than my previous ones. My 5K rule is still in play, but larger chapter are very tough to edit and write. So, I decided to cut them down a little so I can post quicker. Two weeks between posting is quite a bit of time. Let me tell you, shorter chapters are easier to manage and edit than hulking 13k chapters. Hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 11

Day 26-27

It didn't seem like anything changed since the last time Roxas set foot inside this castle. Kingdom hearts was still shining brightly in the sky and the entire world had the same exact feeling of emptiness. When Roxas exited the Corridor of darkness, he found himself in the room he was given when he first became a member of the organization.

Glancing around the tiny room, Roxas couldn't help but frown. This place didn't mean anything to him. It was simply a room he used to sleep for the first 8 days he was in the organization. It wasn't like his other room where it was…warm and comforting. Here, Suu didn't randomly barge into his room and wrap him up in a tight hug while asking to read a book with him or study. Pyra and Yukiko went here to make funny jokes and playful banter. There wasn't the continuous arguing of Miia, Papi, Centorea, and Mero as they tried to claim Kimihito as their own.

And lastly, Kimihito wasn't there to randomly knock on his door and offer snacks and tea while they studied and played.

Thinking back on his host, Roxas felt another small stab of pain, causing his eyebrows to scrunch slightly. His words still played through his mind like a broken record, making the nobody feel really bad for whatever reason.

But those feeling were the exact reason he felt the need to return to this empty place. The nobodies who lived here should hopefully answer some of his questions.

With that thought, Roxas left his room to search for the one person who knew the most about the nobodies.

Walking through the castle was…almost nostalgic for Roxas. The beautiful white structure was just as massive and stunning as he remembered. But that did nothing to make up for the empty vibe this place had. Still, it was strange walking through these hallways again as he made his way to the lounge room where Saix would give them missions.

As walked through the hallways of the castle, Roxas wondered how they would react to his return. He had been gone for a while now and he remembered them claiming that he was valuable to the organizations goal.

But instead of returning once he found out how to use the Corridor or Darkness, he remained where he was. Heck, he didn't even want to be here now. He just wanted some questions answered and he would be on his way…

But would they let him leave?

Would they force him to stay here and work for them? In all the time he spent in the organization, they never really seemed like the kind of group that would do that. But then again, he only spent a few days with them. And in those few days, he hardly knew anything about the Organization or its goal.

Roxas eventually found himself nearing the lounge quarters. He could already here muffled voices through the door.

"You know, this castle is pretty empty with everyone out looking for Roxas."

"Is that so? You sound as if you miss everyone Xigbar."

Roxas felt his lips curl up a bit when he recognized both the voices of Xigbar and Xemnas. They were just the people he wanted to find. But then a frown marred his brow when he heard that people were looking for him. He reached out and was about to open the door when Xigbars next comment halted him in his tracks.

"Humph, as if! The sooner they find the little run, the sooner the puppet can completely absorbed him and his abilities."

"Indeed. With the puppet copying his abilities, we will finally have the Keyblade under our complete control. We will no longer need to worry about Roxas because he will be destroyed once the process is complete. Number 14, Xion will be the key to our plan instead of him."

Roxas felt his heart drop into his stomach. His fingers curled into fists as those words rang through his mind. This was there plan for him? This was what they were going to do with? This was what Xion's purpose was in the organization?

Red hot fury was coursing through his veins as he continued to listen to the two top members of organization 13.

"Yeah, well it may be a while. We've released heartless and Nobodies into countless worlds looking for him. That, and making even more hearts for us to collect when we do find him." Xigbars drawled.

"Very good. We will need countless hearts to accomplish our goal. Luckily, there is still another who is gathering hearts for us."

"Oh yeah, you mean Sora, right?"

Roxas's eyes widened again when he heard that name. How did they know about Sora? He thought Sora was either just a dream…or maybe someone Roxas knew before he lost his memory. But they seemed to know him. How?

"You are correct."

"Where is he by the way? You know, after defeated your heartless counterpart?"

"I do not know, but when he appears again, he will continue collecting hearts for our cause."

Roxas heard Xigbar laughing. "Right, the whole "We need Kingdom hearts to get hearts of our own" Bullshit story. I mean, I can't believe they bought that shit. Then again, it's not like they're going to question you anyway, that is if they value their existence."

"Indeed."

Roxas's throat dried up at what he just heard. His mind was racing with unanswerable questions. If what he learned before about his own fate was disturbing, this was on a whole new level.

Xemnas lied about needing kingdom hearts to gain hearts of their own. He was lying to the entire Organization about his plan for them. But if he was lying, then what was his real goal? And how were Nobodies supposed to get hearts of their own? Or…was it even possible? And why did Xemnas need hearts for Kingdom Hearts?

Currently, Roxas's hands were clenched so hard that the fabric of his gloves threatened to break. He was so furious by what he was hearing, that he was half tempted to march right into that room and attack. But…He also knew he was no match for either of them yet. They wiped the floor with him during their training sessions. There was nothing he could do besides listen angrily to what they were saying in the hopes he would learn something else.

"And what about axel? Was it smart to leave him in castle oblivion with Xion? I mean, he might just screw up again. Is he even on our side? How do we know he didn't purposely loose Roxas?" Xigbar asked.

"Hmm" Xemnas hummed. "Axel is a problem. I detect his allegiance to me is based solely on the fact that he doesn't want to die."

"True."

"But that is also dangerous. Axel is powerful, and if he is somehow turned against us, he will be a thorn in our side."

"So what do you suggest?"

"When Roxas is located, there will be no more reason to have him watch over Number 14. Xion will copy Roxas's abilities to the point where Roxas will disappear. So when we find Roxas, Axel's usefulness will expire."

Again, Roxas could not believe what he was hearing. Before today, Xemnas seemed at least reasonable. He gave off the impression that he valued the members of organization 13. But now…

"you mean?" Xigbars exited voice said through the door.

"Yes. You may eliminate him as soon as we find Number 13."

That was all Roxas could listen to. His rage was boiling over and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself if he continued to listen. As silently as possible, he moved away from the door. His mind was racing with all the words he just heard from Xigbar and Xemnas. He simply couldn't believe that they were just panning to throw him away and Kill Axel. Not only that, but they lied about there plan. Kingdom hearts wasn't going to help them gain hearts of their own. But if that's true, then why did they need Kingdom hearts? What was the point of Organization 13?

Though he had these questions, he knew he wasn't going to get the answers he wanted in his castle. Not wanting to get caught, Roxas extended his hand to summon the Corridor of darkness. He needed to get out of here and collect his thoughts. But where should he go? Thinking back to Kimihito's house caused him to bite his lower lip. He couldn't afford to have his thoughts distracted by that place right now. There were much more urgent things to think about.

That's when his mind went back to when Xemnas mentioned Sora. How did he know about the boy he'd been dreaming about? Was it possible that these dreams were…more than just dreams? I mean, he already slightly suspected that, but this new information just cemented that thought.

There was one way to find out. Finally thinking about a destination, Roxas focused the darkness and summoned the corridor. Taking one last bitter look at this castle, he turned and entered, hoping that he would never have to return to this empty place ever again.

* * *

It was a long day for Kimihito as he dragged himself back home. After being kidnaped by Rachnera, stopping Roxas from killing her, and explaining the entire situation to smith, it was an understatement to say he was tired. Not only that, he knew for a fact that Rachnera was going to live with him now. The spider woman made it very clear she wanted to stay with someone who didn't have anything against Arachnera…and she said that while hanging all over him.

Not that he minded. Rachnera had some sexy legs after all…Yes, Kimihito was a leg man. Currently, the Spider woman was filling out some paperwork that would transfer her over to his household soon. So that meant she would probably be here tomorrow night at the latest.

He was not looking forward to telling everyone about their new housemate. Miia was already jealous of everyone else in the house besides Roxas and his friends. The rest would be annoyed for sure, but they would cope like they usually did.

The only other thing he had to worry about was his youngest tenant. When Kimihito explained a few things to smith about his magic, to his surprise, Smith simply raised an eyebrow with interest. It was like she already knew about his magic or something. He wasn't going to question it of course because Smith seemed to know just about everything.

Thinking back on the entire situation cause the overworked host to Sigh. He remembered how he snapped at the young boy. He felt a little guilty about saying those things to him, but he was just shocked that Roxas was willing to kill so easily. That shock made him overlooked that fact that Roxas was trying to save him. Add to the fact that Roxas's amnesia was a factor in his rash actions, and it made so much more sense as to why he tried to kill her.

The man felt even worse because Rachnera was the one that explained that to him. He was surprised how she just brushed off the attack on her life. She didn't show any lasting fear of Roxas when she made her choice to live with them when that would usually be a deterrent. However, when he asked her about it, she just smiled at him and said she was more interested than scared.

As his house came into view, Kimihito paused for just a moment in awe when he noticed that some renovations were already done. The roof was much larger, meaning that they knew Rachnera would probably prefer staying in the attic.

Still, it was amazing to see how fast those people worked. He barely signed the papers that made him the host for Rachnera…did this mean Smith planned something like this again? How did she seen to know just about everything?

Putting that thought aside, Kimihito walked up to the door and opened it. Luckily, there was no one waiting right there for him, so he could at least take off his shoes. But from the voices he was hearing, he could tell that nearly all his tenants were in the kitchen. Bracing himself, he walked through the hallway before entering the kitchen.

He was in the right state of mind when he braced himself, because the moment everyone saw him, the room exploded with activity.

Miia literally launched herself at him, using her tail like a spring. She slammed rough into his body, curling her long tail around him in a secure bundle. Somehow, his face ended up planted in her cleavage while her arms snaked around his head, holding him firm.

"DARLING!" Miia screamed, nearly crushing his entire body with her grip. "W-WE WERE S-SO WORRIED!"

"Mph!" Kimihito gasped, trying to find a way to breath.

"Miia! Your strangling him! Release him at once!" Centorea said, gripping the Lamia's shoulders to pry her off.

"Oh, it was such a nice tragedy." Mero gushed. "Dear sir was kidnapped, leaving behind the ones who loved him to mourn over his loss. It was so amazing!"

"Enough of that!" Centorea growled.

"And now, Dear sir may suffocate tragically and then we will all be deported because no one will host a group of murderers." Mero continued, her fantasy getting the better of her.

"WHAT!?" Miia screeched, loosening her hold a bit so the man could breath. "HE WONT BE ABLE TO HOST US!?"

"Not if you kill him Miia." Centorea said, gripping Kimihito and pulling him from her grasp. "You have to be more gentle…like this." Centorea continued as she gently hugged the man to her chest, her face erupting in a magnificent blush. Though, unfortunately, his face ended up trapped again between even larger breasts.

"Centorea!" Miia growled.

"Papi wants Kimihito too!" Papi exclaimed, surprising the Centaur by tackling her from behind. Centorea was so surprised enough that she loosened her hold on Kimihito.

He managed to back away, gasping for air before turning to see the scene of complete mayhem again. All his tenants were arguing between each other.

"Everyone! Calm down!" He said loudly.

His words had an immediate effect as everyone's attention was now on him. Kimihito was rarely one to raise his voice, so it surprised them. He cautiously looked over each of their expressions. He could tell they had been worried sick about him.

"Listen, I'm sorry I worried you." He started.

"What happened? Who hath kidnaped you?" Centorea demanded.

Kimihito scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well…"

He spent the next few minutes telling them what happened. How Rachnera kidnapped him and now he was her host. He left out the part where Roxas came and nearly killed the Arachnera though. After he was done talking, there was a lot of angry words shared by Miia and Centorea about the situation.

"SHE KIDDNAPPED YOU! HOW CAN YOU BE HER HOST!" Miia roared.

"For once, I agree. She's dangerous master." Centorea said, her arms crossed under her bosom.

"Listen, I know she kidnapped me, but she had her reasons. She's had it pretty rough with her past couple hosts, so I can't really blame her for what she did." Kimihito tried to reason.

"That's no excuse! She could have hurt you!"

"But she didn't. She never had any intention to either. She simply wanted to prove her point." Kimihito responded. "Please, be reasonable."

"I don't like it!" Miia growled. "She's just going to be another rival!"

"She doesn't have anywhere else to go." Kimihito continued. "Besides, Smith already signed the papers, so…she's kinda stuck with us."

Miia growled again, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Fine! But no one is going to take you away from me!" She declared.

"Excuse me?" Centorea asked, her eyebrow raised. "Its obvious that Master will chose me over you. And I will not lose him to you either!"

"What did you say?"

Kimihito gave a small sigh of relief when he saw that they would accept Rachnera as an addition to the house. However, glancing around the room, he noticed someone was not there with them.

"Hey, where's Roxas?" he asked.

The girls stopped arguing for a moment and took the time to look around. "I haven't seen him for a while…ever since he heard you got kidnapped." Miia said, a bit of concern in her voice.

"Neither have I. Maybe he's in his room?" Centorea suggested.

Kimihito felt a bit of worry enter his heart as he nodded. "I-I need to talk to him about something."

The slight stutter in his voice was easily caught. "What is it? What's wrong dear sir?" Mero asked, the others nodding in agreement.

"It's person. If Roxas wants to tell you, he will." Kimihito said firmly, leaving no room for argument. He turned away from his tenants as he started to walk upstairs to Roxas's room. With each step, he could feel his heart beating a little faster. How was he supposed to start this conversation? He remembered the pained look on Roxas's face as he left the warehouse, so he knew that Roxas was upset.

Those thoughts didn't make it any easier as he walked up to his door. He hesitated for a few seconds before he lightly rapped on the hard wood with his knuckles. "Roxas?"

Silence.

Kimihito's eyebrows scrunched a little, thinking that Roxas was still mad at him. He knocked again. "Roxas, are you in there?"

This time, there was the sound of footsteps as someone approached the door. Kimihito lowered his hand as he watched the door knob slowly turn before the door creaked open.

"Roxas, we need to talk…Suu?" Kimihito said, spotting the slime standing in the doorway.

"Big Bro." Suu smiled at him.

"Suu, what are you doing in here?" Kimihito asked.

"Suu is waiting for Roxas to return. He left a few…hours ago," Suu said cheerfully. Despite small hesitations to find the right word, Suu was doing amazing with her speech.

"Wait…Roxas isn't here?"

Suu's gelatinous eyebrows scrunched slightly as she shook her head. "Roxas has not come back yet."

Kimihito felt himself swallow as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. If Roxas hasn't come back yet, then where was he? He felt as if he were a parent who was worried for their kid when they didn't return from school or stayed out past there curfew. Thoughts began to fly though his head. What if he was kidnapped? What if he got hurt? What if he ran away?

But after a few of those thoughts, Kimihito shook his head. After his demonstration at the warehouse, he doubted that anyone would be able to do any harm to the boy. But his last thought was more plausible. It was possible that he was so upset that he ran away.

"Is something wrong?" Suu asked, concern in her emerald eyes. "Is Roxas ok?"

Kimihito looked down at the young slime girl. She looked very concerned as she held one of Roxas's books to her chest. It almost made his heart break. Gently, he smiled down at her.

"No Suu, I'm sure Roxas is just fine. He might…be sleeping over at one of his friends today. He will be back soon."

"Really?" She asked, looking down slightly. "But…he didn't invite Suu. He always invites Suu to wherever he goes…besides school."

Crap. Caught in his own lie.

"Don't worry about him Suu. Roxas will return soon."

"…he will?" She asked, looking up at him hopefully.

"Yes. So don't worry, Ok?" Kimihito said, gently patting her head.

"Ok." Suu said as her smile returned.

"good, now why don't you get back to your reading and I will get you for dinner."

"Ok…Thanks big bro." She said as She then backed away from Kimihito and slowly closed the door.

Despite the fabrication of calmness on his face, Kimihito felt his heart pumping at a rapid pace while he stood there in the empty hallway. Roxas didn't return after the fiasco at the Warehouse. Was he still angry? Did he really run away? If he did, then where would he go? Did he really sleep over at his friend's house? Thinking back, the three of them would always come to his house to hang out. Never once did they stay at Yukiko or Pyra's house. But then again, Roxas may have asked to stay over at one of their houses for the night.

"That must be it. He must have stayed over at Pyra's house tonight." He said, trying to convinced himself. "No worries. I will visit them tomorrow and see if he's alright."

With that thought, Kimihito turned and walked back downstairs. As expected, the girls were fighting again over God knows what. He put on a smile as he walked into the room to once again resolve the conflict as painless as possible while working on dinner.

* * *

On a familiar world, the corridor of darkness sprang from the ground, allowing a figure with spikey blond hair to walk out. Roxas exited the Corridor, allowing it to disappear while he gazed around at his surroundings. Currently, he was in a craves that was surrounded by waterfalls…where was water was rising instead of falling. Different earthy platforms were floating in front of him, leading up to a massive object in the distance. This object was easily the most impressive thing about the surrounding area. A Huge Castle.

"…So, these dreams really aren't just dreams after all." Roxas whispered to himself as he took a couple steps forward. The giant castle in front of him was nearly the size of Castle Oblivion, just not as…white. It was mostly darker colors with towers that seemed to curl around the massive building. There was also a huge Heartless emblem in the middle of the castle.

"Hollow Bastion." Roxas said as he took a couple more steps forward. He had never been to this place before, but he remembered the dream he had when Sora visited this place. He decided to come here on a whim because he wanted to see if this place truly existed. And if it did…

"That means Sora actually exists. He's not just a dream." Roxas whispered to himself as he began walking toward the giant castle. It was almost a sense of Déjà vu because this was the exact same route Sora used to get to the Castle.

As he approached a certain platform, Roxas couldn't help but pause slightly as a sense of nostalgia almost took over. This was the platform where Riku took Sora's Keyblade. This was where Riku also attacked and injured the Beast. The memory was so vivid that Roxas was almost certain it was him that stood on this platform, watching his best friend walk off with the Keyblade.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Roxas continued walking forward until he reached the place where the moving platform would take him to the castle gates. It only took a second before the platform zoomed toward him, waiting for him to board.

Again, it was so strange to walk onto the platform and let it take him all the way to the entrance of the castle. It was a very quick ride before it stopped right in front of the large gates. However, just as Roxas jumped off the platform, a familiar sensation suddenly took over. He had only experienced it a few times before, but it was indistinguishable.

"Heartless." Roxas whispered as he saw multiple heartless appear in front of him.

In a flash, Roxas summoned the Keyblade. It had been a long time since he fought heartless, but when the first Wyvern attacked, Roxas leaped up into the air and slashed down on the creatures back, completely obliterating it in a single swoop. He then noticed a Defender charging a fire attack with its shield. Roxas rushed forward just as a fireball erupted from the shield, but Roxas already knew how to counter the attack based on his memory of Sora.

He stuck the Fire ball, sending it back at the defender. The fire collided with the shield, knocking the defender off balance. This allowed Roxas to leap behind the heartless and strike at its weakness. The defender exploded into darkness, allowing a red heart to gently float up into the sky.

Roxas's eyes widened as he watched the heart float upward until it vanished. He remembered what Xemnas said about using him to collect hearts. This was what he meant by that? Each time he destroyed a heartless, that was another heart that was under Xemnas's control?

The sound of multiple Corridor's opening caused Roxas to grit his teeth a little. He turned around to see more Wyvern, Defenders, and dark balls. They all turned their attention on him.

Roxas clenched the Keyblade in his hand, wondering what he should do. If he fought, then Xemnas would have hearts. He didn't want to be used by that lying asshole. But if he didn't fight, then the heartless would attack him…and if the heartless ever attacked the world where his friends were, then he would have no choice but to destroy them.

Gripping the Keyblade even harder, Roxas looked up at the attacking heartless with a face of determination. The struck the first dark ball with ease, causing it to explode in darkness as he faced down the rest of the heartless.

"I will fight."

* * *

Taking out the heartless while making his way to the gates wasn't that difficult. Every weakness he knew about them, he knew because of Sora. Eventually, he pried open the main doors and found himself standing in front of a large fountain with a grand staircase curled around it. As expected, more heartless appeared to block his way, but they were easily disposed of.

While walking up the winding staircase, Roxas had to wonder what he was still doing here. He came to this world on a Wim, wondering if it really existed. But even though he proved it, he was still walking around this empty castle.

Another wave of heartless attacked, but once again, they were no match for the Keyblade wielding nobody. However, as he was making his way to the library, he saw something right in front of the doors. A group of heartless were surrounding something.

Getting closer, Roxas's eyes widened a bit when he noticed that something was a person. A person with short blond hair.

Bursting into action, Roxas drew back his Keyblade. "Strike Raid!" He threw the weapon, slicing threw a few heartless before it returned.

The rest of the heatless turned their attention on him. The defenders stalked forward with their massive shields and the wizards already summoning there magic.

Roxas crouched down in his ready position, but just as he was about to attack, a large fireball slammed into the back of one of the Defenders. It vanished, allowing a glowing heart to float away. Before Roxas could question what he saw, a giant ninja star impaled another heartless. Soon, two figures jumped down form the upper level and quickly dispatched the rest of the heartless surrounding the downed man.

Those figures stared at Roxas, their eyes wide as they looked at his peculiar weapon.

"A Keyblade?" The woman asked in surprise.

"Look like it. I thought Sora was back in Hollow bastion somehow." The male said, great surprise in his voice as well. "But this guy isn't Sora."

Roxas stared at them, not relaxing from his stance. These two-people looked extremely familiar, but he knew he never met them before. But…there was someone who did.

"You're Leon and Yuffie, right?" Roxas asked.

The now named Leon and Yuffie glanced at each other, again surprised. "Um…Do we know you?" Yuffie asked.

Roxas shook his head and relaxed, allowing the Keyblade to vanish. "No…but I've…heard about you."

"You have huh?" Leon asked, his eyebrow raised in suspicion. "By who? No offense, but anyone I know would have told us about someone who can use the Keyblade."

Roxas didn't know how to respond to that. Leon was just as perceptive as his dreams indicated. "I…I know Sora." Roxas started, trying to find a way to describe his position.

"Wait what?" Yuffie exclaimed. "You know Sora? Have you seen him recently? Is he ok?" She questioned, becoming extremely interested in this new boy.

Leon shook his head. "Yuffie, don't fall for that so easily. Do you really think Sora wouldn't have told us about someone else being able to use the Keyblade?" he asked as he shot a small glare at Roxas. "Now Tell us the truth!"

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting about me!" The man on the floor groveled as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. "Those damn heartless near killed me. What took you so long?"

"C'mon Cid! We didn't expect a couple heartless to take you out." Yuffie teased.

"Shut yer trap. I'm no fighter. I work on the gummy ships." He said as he turned to Roxas, his eyebrow raised as well. "Still, I think you should cut the kid some slack. While you were taking yer time, this kid was saving my ass."

Roxas felt a little relieved that this guy was speaking up for him. He really didn't know how to explain just how he knew them.

"True, but it is pretty strange seeing someone else who can use a Keyblade." Yuffie said, glancing over at Roxas as well. "So…do you have a name?"

"…Roxas."

"Well Roxas, since you won't tell us how you know us, maybe you can tell us why you're here in this castle." Yuffie suggested instead.

Roxas frowned a little as he tried to think of the answer. "I…I don't know what drew me to this world. I just wanted to…confirm something" He said, knowing he didn't have to be careful with his words because these people already knew about different worlds.

"So, you are from a different world huh? Strange, I thought all the pathways were closed after Sora destroyed Ansem and restored the worlds" Leon said, his gaze getting even more suspicious.

"…So, Sora really did destroy Ansem." Roxas commented quietly.

Yuffie, Leon, and Cid all looked at each other questionably. "Um yeah. Haven't you noticed that there are way more stars in the sky?" Yuffie asked.

"Alright, that's enough!" Leon said, finally losing his patience. "Just who are you? How come we've never heard of another Keyblade wielder, how do you know us?"

Again, Roxas looked uncomfortable as he stretched out his hand and summoned the Keyblade. "I…I don't know." He said finally as he let the weapon disappear. "I don't know!" his volume increasing. This whole encounter did nothing to help his psych. All the frustration, anger, and confusion was just spilling over now. He didn't know how to answer their questions, heck, he didn't even know how to answer his own questions. "I don't know why I can use the Keyblade! I DON'T KNOW THE REASON I KNOW YOU! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

The three were taken aback by his sudden outburst. His voice echoed through the empty room, permeating its walls with his angry yell.

"Wow, calm down kid." Cid said, making calming gestures with his hands.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW I KNOW SORA! I DON'T KNOW WHO OR WHAT I AM!" Roxas finished, letting all his anger and frustration out at once. All his built-up confusion towards his budding feelings, his anger at the lies and deception of Organization 13, and the frustration of having no memories to help him understand how to cope with these things.

Leon, Yuffie, and Cid glanced at each other again, wondering how they were supposed to deal with someone who looked like he was having an emotional and mental breakdown. He sounded like a bull about to charge with the way he was breathing. It was clear that he was frustrated and angry about something.

"Alright kid, take a deep breath and calm down." Cid said, taking a couple steps toward the distressed teen. It was strange because this reminded him of the first time he met Sora. Sora was so flustered when he first entered Cid's shop back in traverse town, albeit to a lesser degree than this kid. It almost felt like this was déjà vu again.

Roxas slowly took a couple deep breaths as he looked up at the approaching adult. He took a couple steps backwards.

"Kid, we aren't going to hurt you." Cid said as he stopped walking forward.

Roxas looked away from them, kinda surprised he lost it like that for a few seconds. That was so unlike him.

"Sorry."

"It's alright. We all have something to get off our chests, ya know." Cid said, scratching his nose with his thumb. "So, it seems you already know us, so introductions are kinda pointless."

"I've heard about all of you, but I…don't know how to explained how I do." Roxas said.

"Eh, it's not the strangest thing I've heard." Cid said.

"I don't know." Yuffie said playfully. "Having a Keyblade master just pop up and somehow he knows us is pretty strange."

"You can say that again." Leon confirmed as he looked over at Roxas. "So, what brought you to Hollow bastion again?"

Roxas still didn't know how he was supposed to answer that question. "I guess…to see if it really existed."

"That doesn't make any sense." Yuffie said inquisitively.

"…then I came here because I didn't know where else to go." Roxas said truthfully. He didn't really want to go back to Kimihito's house quite yet, and he definitely didn't want to go back to Organization 13's headquarters. This was the only place that came to mind.

"What about your family kid?" Cid asked.

"Never had any."

"Friends?"

"…"

Roxas didn't respond as he thought back on all his friends, but again, he didn't want to return quite yet. He still had so many questions. Questions that he thought Xemnas could answer, but that nobody was full of lies. No one else could help him understand what was going on. No one besides…

"Axel." Roxas whispered, remembering what Xemnas said he would do to the fire Nobody after they found him. Surly Axel wouldn't support the organization after learning that, right?

Looking up at the three individuals, a new goal formed in his mind. "I…I have to go." Roxas said finally, turning away from the three.

"W-Hold on!" Yuffie called, causing Roxas to pause. "Who are you?"

Looking over at the three of them, a somber look crossed his face. "That's what I'm trying to find out." He said as he extended his hand and summoned the Corridor of darkness. He walked through, not even glancing back to see the look of extreme shock cross Leon, Yuffie, and Cid's face. When he was gone, three three stood there silently, staring at the place where he vanished.

"W-What the hell was that? That was…that's what the heartless use!" Yuffie stuttered.

"Y-Yeah." Leon whispered, still completely shocked by what he just witnessed. "Who was that kid?"

* * *

Kimihito had the hardest time sleeping that night. He kept trying to convince himself that Roxas simply went to stay the night at one of his friends because it was the weekend, but there was a serious nagging feeling in the back of his head. He couldn't help but worry because Roxas hadn't answered his phone, nor any of his text messages. The phone would go straight to voicemail, meaning it was turned off. Having to wait for morning was a very tough ordeal.

But lo and behold, the sun eventually rose over the horizon. Kimihito was decently tired, only getting brief moments of sleep throughout the night. But now, it was morning and the start of a new day. Maybe he would take the girls out after breakfast and they all could go visit Pyra and Yukiko's house to see if Roxas was there.

Upon entering the kitchen, he noticed that Papi and Suu were already up, playing some video games. This was usual because those two were early birds. Centorea would get up a few moments later and usually ask to go for a morning jog with him, though he was never able to keep up with the Centaur. Miia and Mero were last to get up. Due to her not being able to get to the kitchen on her own, Kimihito would usually pick Mero up around 8:30 after she had prepared for the day. Of course, there were times where she…Either accidently or deliberately…didn't finish dressing and Kimihito would accidently barge in on a half-naked Mermaid. But overall, everyone seemed to have their routine.

But Kimihito's mind was still on Roxas. It was true that Roxas wouldn't return until about 9 on Saturdays because he would train a bit longer, but this was different. Kimihito always knew where Roxas was, didn't know if he was training or not. He would have to see if Roxas returned around 9 like he usually would. If not, then he would have to ask Pyra and Yukiko if Roxas crashed with them.

But then, that was another dilemma. Thinking back to what happened last night, Roxas was only trying to save him, but Kimihito kinda blew up at him. What would he say to the kid? Would he say sorry? Maybe thanks for trying to rescue him?

Giving a sigh, Kimihito strapped on an apron before getting to work on breakfast. He hoped Roxas would return in time for the meal and he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

"Is this what a parent feels like?" He whispered to himself.

When 9:00 finally rolled around, everyone was sitting in their spots at the dinner table, ready for another home cooked breakfast. And just as Kimihito feared, Roxas didn't show up. He wasn't the only one that noticed this little detail either.

"Hey darling, where's Roxas at?" Miia asked, dishing herself some fried eggs.

"Yes, I have not seen him since last night." Centorea agreed.

Hearing this, Kimihito felt his shoulders slump a little. "I'm guessing he may have spent the night at either Pyra's or Yukiko's." He responded, though that was still very wishful thinking.

"That's odd. They always come here to visit. Why would they change it up suddenly?" Mero commented.

"Muu." Papi wined. "I miss them already. They haven't played with Papi for a while."

"It's only been one morning." Miia said, throwing the Harpy a flat look.

"Papi knows! It's been so long!" She said, dramatically flopping on the table.

"Now now." Kimihito said, trying to comfort the bird girl. "I'll tell you what. After breakfast, how about all of us go out for a while and visit them. Does that sound good?"

The results of his words were instantaneous. A large smile spread across the energetic harpy's face as she nodded frantically.

Kimihito chuckled a little as he turned his attention to the last occupant at the table. The slime girl hadn't touched her food, just stared at it silently.

"Is something wrong Suu?" Kimihito asked.

Suu looked up at her host, her gelatinous brow scrunching slightly. "Suu…Suu has never slept alone without Roxas." She said quietly. "Suu is…wor-worried."

Seeing the sad expression on the slime girls face made the man feel much worst. He reached over at patted her head, causing her to peer up at him. He gave her a gentle smile. "Don't worry Suu. I'm sure Roxas is just fine."

Slowly, Suu nodded her head, but his words didn't really help her mood all that much.

* * *

Breakfast was finally over and everyone was dressed and ready to leave. It was a bright sunny day out, a perfect Saturday for a walk with everyone. There was slight bickering between the girls, but that was usual for them.

It didn't take long before they reached Pyra's house since she lived so much closer than Yukiko.

"So, this is where Pyra lives?" Miia asked, gazing up at the rather average looking house.

"Yeah, I think so. I've only been here once." Kimihito said, remembering the one time he accompanied Roxas as he took home Pyra and Yukiko. He wanted to know where they lived for future reference.

"It's rather plain." Centorea said.

"Well, I don't think renovations were needed for this case." Kimihito said as he walked forward and knocked on the door.

The sound of heavy footsteps was heard on the other side before the door suddenly swung open. Standing there was a rather heavy and balding man with glasses. He looked up and down Kimihito before he noticed the other monster girls behind him. His eyes narrowed a little.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked, a slight bite to his voice.

"Um, yeah." Kimihito said, extending his hand to the man. "I'm Kimihito, is Pyra here?"

Hearing her name, the man couldn't help but growl. "Unfortunately. What do you want?"

Kimihito sweated a little when he literally felt the angry aura roll off the four liminal behind him. "Well, I wanted to ask her a question. She's one of our friends."

"Hah! As if that angry and violent dog could make any friends." The man said, sneering at them.

"Hey! It's true. She comes over and plays with us almost every day!" Miia growled, unable to hold her tongue anymore.

"Humph! So, that's where she goes huh? So, did she threaten to throw your soul in hell if you didn't become her friend?"

"You sir, are disgusting." Centorea said, a tone of complete disapproval in her voice.

"Ha! You're one to talk! The only thing appealing about you is those giant tits." The man hissed back.

"…"

The anger aura increased tenfold from the Centaur. "You little…"

"Move aside fat-ass!"

Suddenly, something jerked the man backwards before he went flying down the hallways, landing flat on his back. He tried scrambling to his feet in the most undignified manner as he glared at his perpetrator.

"Y-YOU Dog! I will have you deported for that!" He yelled at the hellhound standing there.

"Try it you little faggot. Why don't you go masturbate to your body pillow again?" She said as she turned to the group of staring individuals. The man simply huffed as he turned and walked out of sight.

"…Pyra, is that your host?" Miia asked through clenched teeth.

"Kinda. My real hosts are the parents, but he's just their loser son. So…" She said, a friendlier smile crossing her face. "What's up? I don't think you've ever picked me up before bro. Where's Roxas?"

Hearing that, Kimihito felt his heart drop to his stomach. Pyra was the last person the night before to have seen him…and he wasn't here.

"Um…He's not here?" Miia asked. "He didn't come home last night, so we were wondering if you guys decided to hang out here or something." She continued before a look of disgust crossed her face. "But seeing that guy, I can see why you always come over."

"I second that. That man is truly despicable." Centorea agreed

Pyra felt her eyebrows rise slightly when she heard that Roxas never returned to his house last night. "He's…not here. I haven't seen him since last night." She said cautiously.

Again, Kimihito felt his heart race a bit more. "Do you think he might have stayed with Yukiko?"

"I highly doubt it, but it wouldn't hurt to check." Pyra responded.

"Alright, I guess we will try there then." Kimihito said. "We're just worried about him…last night was…"

"Yeah, Roxas didn't take your words very well." Pyra said, unintentionally pouring salt on the wound. "But I wouldn't think that would keep him from returning home."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Miia asked.

"It's a long story." Kimihito responded. "but I think we should see if he's at Yukiko's."

"Cool, I'll tag along." Pyra said, walking out the door.

"Hold up, Kimihito isn't' your host though." Miia said.

"So? Will anyone really ask to see all his papers for every single one of the Liminal he's hosting?" Pyra asked, her eyebrow raised.

"…Good point."

It took a little while longer before they arrived at Yukiko's house. This was the first time anyone else besides Kimihito and Pyra had seen it. It was a rundown apartment complex.

"And Yukiko lives here?" Miia asked, knowing that herself would be extremely uncomfortable in small little apartments like this.

"Yep." Pyra said as she led them through the complex before arriving at a certain door. She didn't hesitate to knock.

There was only a few seconds before they heard the footsteps of someone racing toward the door. It flew open to reveal an energetic girl standing there with a huge smile.

"Roxas! What took you so long! Why didn't you answer any of my… huh?" She said, tilting her head in confusion. "Big bro? What are you doing here? Where's Roxas at?"

Again, seeing her confused reaction increased the feeling of panic in Kimihito's chest. "Um, Yukiko…you haven't seen Roxas have you?" he asked, feeling a little dumb by his own question.

"Not since he dropped me off last night…Why? Where is he?" Yukiko asked, her smile fading ever so slightly.

There was a pregnant pause as everyone stared at the Yeti girl. Soon, all eyes turned to Kimihito, who started sweating slightly.

"Darling, what happened? Where is Roxas?" Miia asked, a serious tone in her voice.

"Yes, he didn't return last night, and he isn't with any of his friends." Centorea said. "So where would he be?"

"Wait, what are you guys talking about? What do you mean he didn't return last night?" Yukiko asked, a slightly panicked look forming in her eyes.

Seeing that he basically buried himself in a hole, Kimihito decided to use his last resort.

"I need to make a quick phone call." He said, pulling out his phone and dialing up Smith's number.

* * *

 **Authors note: So yeah, this was a bit shorter than usual. I kinda had a difficult time writing this and getting it out, so if you would show some support by leaving a review, that would be most appreciated. That is basically the only way that I know people enjoy this story. So please, it really does give me a boost of inspiration and drive to get more chapters out for you all.**

 **Until then!**


	12. Chapter 12: day 27

**Authors Note: Thank you for your reviews. As expected, quite a few of them mentioned the length of the chapter. I know it was shorter, but it was still 8K words in length. Thank you for your comments though. They were great to read. Here is another chapter for you all. This one is a bit Dialogue heavy, so I hope you all are ok with that.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 12

Day 27

If there was one way axel didn't expect to spend his afternoon, it was testing his strength against one of the Keyblades chosen ones. He had to admit, the fight between him and Sora was one of the best he he'd experienced in a while. Though, he did underestimate this kid. They were pretty evenly matched for a while, but eventually Sora's power overwhelmed the fire nobody.

It was quite surprising how powerful the Keyblade wielder was and made him realize why Marluxia was so fixated on wiping his memory and using him against the Organization. Currently, Axel's flames were dying down slowly before he collapsed to one knee. His Chakrams disappeared as well, leaving him completely defenseless.

Sora was still crouched in his offensive position, making sure this person didn't make any sudden moves. He was impressed with how Axel managed to go toe to toe with him, Donald, and Goofy for a while. Whoever this person was, he was strong.

Looking up at the spikey haired boy, Axel gave a small chuckle. "Not bad Sora." He said, slowly pushing himself to his feet.

Surprisingly, a small grin formed on Sora's lips as well. "Heh, you aren't half bad either." He said, relaxing from his stance and allowing the Keyblade to disappear.

This action surprised axel a bit. "You sure you want to let your guard down like that? I mean, I just attacked you."

"It isn't the first time." Sora said, now completely relaxed. "When I first met one if my friends Leon, he attacked me too. There's nothing really bad about a spar, right?"

Axel shook his head in disbelief, a grin spreading across his face. "You're interesting." He said as he turned to a door located at the side of the room. "Alright, you two can come out now. I've had my fun."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy raised an eyebrow as they looked over at the same doorway. It was slightly cracked open, just enough for two pairs of eyes to peer through. Soon though, the door swung open to reveal two girls standing there.

The first girl was about average height and had shoulder length blond hair. She was also wearing a white dress, accompanied by white shoes. The other girl caused Sora to do a double take. Her hair was jet black, but her face…her face was incredibly similar too…

"Kairi?" Sora whispered before shaking his head. "No, what am I thinking."

The two girls walked forward before situating themselves next to Axel. They peered over at Sora with curious eye.

"Who are you?" Donald demanded.

"Calm your feathers bird brain." Axel drawled, causing Donald to angrily squawk at him. The red haired nobody gestured to the girls. "This is Naminé and that's Xion."

"Um…It's nice to finally meet you Sora." Naminé said.

Sora scrunched his eyebrows a bit, confusion written all over his face. "Finally? Do you know me?"

Naminé looked down in shame as she shuffled her feet. "…Yes, well…kind of. You see…" She stuttered, trying to find the right words. "You came to this castle because of me."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy glanced at each other, trying to understand what she was talking about.

"Ya know, that don't make too much sense to me." Goofy said, scratching the top of his head.

"I know…I'm sorry." Naminé said, still looking a bit ashamed. "But, I'm glad you're here now."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Well…you see, we need your help Sora." Naminé said.

Again, the trio of friends didn't know how to respond to this. "Hold on though. What are you talking about? How do you know me?" Sora asked.

Axel sighed a bit, already annoyed with this awkward conversation. His impatience was getting the better of him. "Well, let's cut right to the chase then." He said, waving his hand around lazily. "Before I came, the person in charge of this castle wanted Naminé to wipe your memory." Axel said, causing everyone to gasp, even Naminé.

"Axel!" Naminé hissed.

"WHAT?" Donald screeched. "How is that possible?"

Again, Naminé felt shame build up in her chest, causing her to grip the front of her dress. "I don't know why I have this power, but I used it to lure you three to this castle." She said as she bowed to them. "I'm…I'm so sorry."

Sora scratched his chin in thought. "Oh, so that's why Donald, Goofy, and I all felt the same way about this castle."

"Sora! You believe her?" Donald demanded.

Sora rested his hands behind his head. "Why not? It makes sense, right? And she seems to know us for some reason."

"Well…I guess."

Seeing Sora's laid back attitude toward the situation really put a grin on Axel's face. "You're taking this really well."

"Huh?" Sora said before he noticed Naminé still bowing to him, causing him to feel a little uncomfortable. "Um…It's alright. I don't really understand what's going on, but please don't bow. I mean, you didn't wipe our memory, right?"

Naminé looked up at him before frantically shaking her head. "No I didn't, but I was going to be forced to. Marluxia said he was going to lock me here forever if I didn't do it." She said, tears perking the corner of her eyes.

"Marluxia?" Goofy asked.

"Yep, good old' Marluxia. That's M-A-R-L-U-X-I-A. Got it memorized?" Axel asked, tapping his temple as he turned to Naminé. "But ya know Naminé, I don't think the kid is up to snuff."

"What's that mean?" Sora demanded, annoyed as the sudden remark at his strength.

Naminé shuffled a bit as she glanced up at the fire Nobody. "Is that what you gathered Axel?"

Axel scratched the back of his head again. "Yeah. Even though he beat me, he still isn't a match for Xemnas. Not even close."

"Hold on, what are you talking about?" Sora asked, even more confused by their words. "Who are you guys anyway? What is this place? Why did you call us here?" He said, firing one question after another.

There was silence between Axel, Naminé, and Xion as they all glanced between each other. Xion and Naminé peered up at Axel expectantly, which caused him to scratch the back of his head in annoyance. "You do realize that Xemnas will kill me if he finds out about this, right? I mean, I really don't feel like turning into a dusk."

"But Axel, you told us the only reason you're a part of the Organization is because Xemnas would kill you. You know what he's doing is wrong!" Xion said, surprising everyone by her sudden outburst.

"Yeah, I know that. Believe it or not, I was a decent person when I had a heart." Axel responded.

A tiny smile formed on Xion's face. "You could've fooled me."

"Ouch."

"Huh?" Goofy said as he and Donald glanced at each other. "Waddya mean by when you had a heart?"

"Crap, said too much already." Axel said as he turned his attention back to Sora and his friends. "Well, it's too late to turn back now, so Listen here and Listen good. I'm only going to explain this once so pay attention, alright?" Axel said as he started his huge information dumb on the trio of light.

The next hour or two consisted of Axel explaining everything to Sora. He explained what the Nobodies were and what the organization was. Naminé also explained certain aspects as well, including what Marluxia planned for Sora once he reached the castle. All in all, Sora took the information pretty well.

"So…let me get this straight." Sora said, his head steaming from all the information just dumped into his lap. "This guy, Marluxia, was going to have you wipe my memory to make me fight against this…Organization 13?"

"Pretty much." Axel said, laying on the marble floor, picking at his ear.

"And, this Organization is full of these people called…Nobodies, right? And Nobodies are the empty shells of strong people who have lost their hearts to the heartless?"

"Yep." Axel grunted, not particularly enjoying the reminder of what he was.

"And these nobodies are collecting hearts and forming Kingdom hearts so they can…exist, right?"

"You got it."

If it were possible, Sora was even more confused. "Ok, but why? How does Kingdom hearts help you guys at all?"

"Beats me. Xemnas is the man with the plan. We just obey the orders." Axel said with a yawn.

Sora scratched his chin. "And you also said they are collecting hearts, right? How are they doing that?"

Axel paused for a moment as he sat up. "You remember me telling you that I knew someone who could use the Keyblade, right?" He asked, causing Sora to nod. "Well, someone in the Organization actually could use the Keyblade. A Nobody named Roxas."

Hearing this new information caused Sora's eyes to widen. "Really? But how? Didn't you say nobodies didn't have hearts? I thought only people with strong hearts could use the Keyblade."

"I don't have a clue. The Origination just found him a few weeks ago, they were planning to use him to harvest the hearts from the heartless."

"Wait, Harvest hearts from the heartless? But I thought the worlds were at peace after we beat Ansem!" Sora said, a dejected look crossing his face.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that isn't the case." Axel said, biting the inside of his cheek. He knew this next bit of information was going to greatly disturb the boy. "Since Roxas disappeared, the Organization has been releasing more heartless and Nobodies into different worlds to find him."

"…"

There was a pregnant pause as everyone digested what Axel just said.

"WHAT!" Sora, Donald, and goofy erupted.

"What do you mean they are releasing heartless into other worlds? Why would they do that?" Sora exclaimed with a look of complete horror on his face.

"I just told you. They released the nobodies to find Roxas, but they are also releasing heartless so they can collect hearts."

"But that's…that's horrible!" Donald cried.

"We know that." Naminé said. "That's why we need your help. Sora, the Organization must be stopped. Xemnas must be stopped from collecting all those hearts."

"You don't have to tell me twice. Just tell me where he is and we will do the rest." Sora said, fierce determination burning in his eyes.

"Ehh, I don't think it will be that simple." Axel said, causing the others to look at him. "Listen, you beat me, I will give you that. But you are still no match for Xemnas. He is stronger that you are right now, got it memorized?" Axel said as he tapped his temple.

Sora stared at the fire nobody before crossing his arms. "And how would you know that?"

"I wasn't just fighting you for the heck of it. Since we knew you were coming, Naminé suggested we fight so I could test your strength. And to put it as plainly as I can, you are not strong enough to take on Xemnas." Axel said, a look of complete seriousness on his face.

"Garsh, is he really that powerful?" Goofy asked.

A slum expression crossed Axels face. "He is. In fact, there are quite a few members of the Organization that are only members because Xemnas could obliterate them, myself included." Axel confirmed. "In fact, the second he finds out I'm telling you this, he is probably going to kill me too."

Sora cocked his head at the fire nobody. "Then why are you telling us this? Aren't you a member of the organization? Don't you also want a heart?"

"Corse I do." Axel said, rolling his eyes. "But I don't understand how Kingdom hearts will fix that little problem. Xemnas isn't really specific when it comes to his plan. And I don't particularly agree with the method he is using to collect hearts, but what can I do?"

"So, you all just listen to him?"

"It's not like some of us want to, but what other choice do we have?" Axel asked, looking over at Naminé and Xion. "Those two know what I'm talking about. In fact, if it weren't for me, then Naminé would have wiped your memory already. She didn't want to, but she didn't have a choice either."

"…"

Sora paused again as he looked down at the ground. "Then…what should we do?"

"You're the Keyblade master." Axel said, waving his hand around. "Figure it out. As for me, I'm gonna continue doing what I've been doing."

"Wait, you're not going to help?" Sora exclaimed.

"Hey, I did my part. I stopped Naminé from wiping your memory. My big mouth told you everything you need to know about Organization 13. I put my very existence…or non-existence on the line by spilling the beans. You have no idea what that's like because unlike me, you have a heart." Axel said seriously.

"Axel" Xion said softly. "Can't we do something? You know what they' re doing is wrong."

"And what can we do? All six of us storm HQ and take on the rest of the members of Organization 13 by ourselves? Need I remind you that Xemnas isn't the only one that's more powerful than me?"

"I know, but…"

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Lead the Keyblade master right to their front doors so Xemnas can beat him to a bloody pulp while the rest of us get wiped out by his underlings. Fantastic." Axel said, sarcasm dripping with every word.

"Hey! We aren't that weak! I bet we can take him on." Donald said confidently.

"Hah! You probably wouldn't even make it to the castle itself. Face it, you aren't ready to defeat someone like Xemnas." Axel said simply.

Sora didn't say much as he felt his hands clench into fists. "we…we really need to find the king." Sora whispered finally.

"huh?" Goofy asked.

Sora turned to his friends and gave them a reassuring smile. "We need to find King Micky. Surly he'll know what to do about this."

"Yeah, but we haven't seen him since we closed the door to darkness." Donald said.

"I know, but he said there was always a door to the light. So, if we find that, then we can find him and Riku." Sora said, a bit of his confidence returning.

Just as those words left Sora's mouth, a Corridor suddenly sprang from the ground just a few feet away from the group. Instantly, everyone attention was drawn to the wispy entrance. Axel sprang to his feet, angrily cursing his luck as the fire Chakrams burst into existence.

"Damn, this isn't good! Is someone checking up on us already?" Axel asked out loud.

"Axel, what is that?" Sora asked, the Keyblade appearing in his hand. He had seen this kind of darkness before. Maleficent used it in the past, but a more vivid memory was of a person in a black coat who used this kind of darkness to appear before him, Donald, and Goofy. The fight that assumed right after was quite challenging.

"It's the damn corridor of darkness!" Axel hissed, crouching down in his fighting position. "It seems the Organization wants to check up on me. You better get ready for a fight."

Not needing to be told twice, Sora crouched down in his fighting stance as well. Goofy raised his shield and Donald readied his staff while Xion prepared her spells.

It wasn't a second later before someone exited the Corridor or darkness. He was wearing the signature Organization 13 coat, but the hood was lowered, allowing everyone to see his face. He had a crop of spikey blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The young boy exited the Corridor of darkness, allowing the portal to disappear behind him. He simply cocked an eyebrow at everyone's defensive stance.

Sora, Donald, and goofy all kept their guard up, but Axel and Xion stared at the boy with wide eyes.

"…Roxas?"

* * *

Roxas didn't know what to expect as he exited the corridor of darkness. Was Axel and Sora still fighting? Did they try to kill each other? Did Axel kill Sora, or vice versa? What he didn't expect was to have an entire group of people armed and ready for a fight. And from there defensive posture, they were ready to fight him.

However, once he and Axel made eye contact, the Fire nobody immediately dropped his Chakrams out of shock.

"Roxas?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"…It's been a while, Axel." Roxas responded as he looked around the rest of the group. He saw Donald and Goofy first. They were glancing between him and Axel in confusion. However, standing just next to him was the boy in his dreams. The boy who had traveled to many worlds and defeated countless heartless. The boy who destroyed Ansem and restored the worlds. The boy who, like him, could wield the Keyblade.

"Sora." Roxas said.

Sora simply raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Um…do I know you?"

Roxas felt the sides of his lip curl up in amusement. Yuffie almost had the exact same reaction. Still, this was a surreal experience. As soon as he heard Sora speak, it felt as if Roxas knew this boy all his life.

"Roxas! What the hell? How did you…When did you?" Axel sputtered, trying to form a complete sentence, but was way to shocked manage it.

"What?"

"Where have you been!? The Organization is looking everywhere for you!" Axel exclaimed.

Hearing Axel mention the Organization made Roxas's eyes narrow. "I don't care what the Organization is doing." Roxas responded, a serious bite to his voice.

His response was clearly something Axel didn't expect. "What do you mean? What's going on? How long have you known how to use the Corridor or Darkness?" Axel asked.

"Long enough. And screw the Organization." Roxas said simply as he glanced over at the remaining people. There were two other girls standing there, both whom he didn't recognize. There was a girl with blond hair and a white dress, but the other own was wearing the Organization 13 coat. This made his eyes narrow again.

"Roxas, what are you saying? Screw the Organization? Have you lost your mind?" Axel asked. "We have to get you back ASAP! The Organization is losing their shit without you."

Roxas turned and gave Axel the harshest glare he could manage. "I am not going back to the Organization…Ever!"

Again, Axel was taken aback by the serious anger in his voice. Just from the glare Roxas was giving showed how much this nobody had changed in such a short amount of time. The last time he saw Roxas, he was no different than a zombie. He did what he was told, showed no emotion whatsoever, and was basically a blank slate. The Roxas that was standing in front of him right now was a completely different person. But how was that possible.

"Hold on, this is Roxas?" Sora asked Axel. "The same Roxas that can use the Keyblade?"

Roxas turned his attention back to Sora. "It's nice…to finally meet you, Sora."

Hearing this caused Sora to drop the Keyblade and grip the sides of his head. "What is going on? How do you know me? I've never met you before…right?"

Roxas shook his head. "We've never met before, but that's not important right now." He said as he turned to Axel. "Axel, I came here to tell you something."

Axel's brow rose slightly. "What? And how did you even find this place anyway? You've never been here before."

"…"

Roxas was again silent. He didn't even know how to explain his dreams to the rest of them. It sounded so ludicrous if he tried to put it in words. "I will tell you that later. What really matters is what I came to tell you right now."

"Well…Spill it then. What's gotten into you? Why aren't you going back to the Organization?"

"Because they lied to us Axel." Roxas said.

His words caused everyone to go silent. They Stared at the spikey blond-haired nobody in confusion.

"What do you mean they lied to us?"

"I mean that Xemnas lied about Kingdom hearts. He lied about us becoming whole through its power. He is using Kingdom hearts for something else." Roxas said without a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

* * *

"Ugh! It's no good. The trail ends right here." Pyra said as she took one last sniff in the air.

"What do you mean it ends?" Smith asked.

"Exactly what I said. This trail ends right here." Pyra said back, a bit of annoyance in her voice.

Kimihito looked around the empty alleyway. "Are you sure he didn't just…jump onto the rooftop or something?"

"Look, Hellhounds specialize in tracking. Hell, this nose can track the souls of the damned. So, trust me when I say that his trail is gone! It's not there! Zip, Zilch, nada."

Smith took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes in frustration. After she got the frantic call from Kimihito about Roxas missing, she deployed all of MON to try and find him. But he was gone, vanished into thin air. According to Kimihito, he didn't return after the incident with Rachnera. It had been almost a full day now. Calmly, she looked over at Pyra and Yukiko.

Pyra also had a frustrated look on her face as she texted away on her cell phone. Smith could only guess she was texting Roxas to see if he would respond. Her eye was twitching in annoyance though because he hadn't responded to anything.

Yukiko was much the same, but she was much less composed. When she found out that Roxas was missing, she made several calls and texts to the boy in the hopes that he would answer. But not a single reply was given. Not from Pyra, Yukiko, Kimihito, even herself. His phone was turned off.

Now they were trying to use Pyra's expert tracking skills to locate him. But now she was saying that his trail ended here. So Currently, they had nothing.

After Kimihito called Smith, he took the rest of the girl's home, even though they strongly insisted they stay and help look. But in all honesty, they would have been more of a distraction. Besides, they need to be at the house because Rachnera would be showing up soon. Someone needed to be there, let her in, and show her around.

Currently, it was just Smith, Kimihito, Pyra, and Yukiko. The rest of Mon was scattered about, trying to find any leads. Thankfully, Smith gave them permission to be out on their own.

Smith glanced over at the two younger Liminal. "Do we have any clues? Anything at all?" Smith asked. "Did he say anything to you guys?"

Pyra and Yukiko tried to remember anything that Roxas may have said that would give them a clue.

"Well…Roxas was saying some funny stuff after the…incident." Pyra said, glancing over at Kimihito.

"Ok…What did he say?" Smith asked.

"It was something about…I don't know. It didn't make much sense." Pyra said, trying to remember exactly what he said. "Something about not being able to understand why he felt so down about what Kimihito said to him."

Hearing her words caused Kimihito to feel even worse about his words, but what did Pyra mean by that?

"you're right, that doesn't make much sense."

"He also said he had questions that no one here would be able to answer."

"No one here?" Smith asked.

"Oh!" Yukiko piped up as she turned to Pyra. "Hey, do you remember what Roxas said the other day after school?"

"Um…Not really." Pyra responded.

"He said something about seeing how the others were doing, remember?" Yukiko said. "Something about Organization…10? 23?"

Kimihito blinked a few times as his mind remembered something. "Organization 13?"

Pyra and Yukiko glanced over at the human in surprise.

"Organization 13…I remember Roxas mentioning something about them when we first met." Smith agreed, scratching her chin.

"Wait, Roxas told you about them?" Yukiko asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, they were the first people to find Roxas after he lost his memory." Smith said. "But I don't see how he would be able to find them. I mean, he got here by complete accident when he used the…what was it called again?" Smith asked, scratching the top of her head.

"The Corridor of darkness?" Yukiko suggested.

"Yeah that…wait, how did you know about that?"

"That Corridor of what now?" Kimihito asked.

"The pure Darkness." Pyra said, a chill running down her spine. "Roxas uses it to teleport."

"Wait, he can what? Teleport?" Kimihito exclaimed, never hearing about this little detail before.

"Hold on, Roxas said he wasn't able to control that ability." Smith said.

"Well…he learned how. And if he did use it, then that explains why his trail disappeared." Pyra summarized.

"So, he could be anywhere right now?" Smith asked.

"Wait! Hold the phone! You're saying Roxas can teleport?" Kimihito asked. "Why didn't he tell anyone that?"

Yukiko and Pyra glanced at each other, both coming to the same conclusion. "It's probably because you didn't ask. Roxas doesn't just tell people about what he can do." Yukiko said simply.

Kimihito blinked a few times as he remembered the first time Roxas did magic in front of him. That was almost exactly what he said when Kimihito asked why he didn't say anything about it.

"Well…fine, but what do we do now? I mean, if Roxas returned to this…Organization, then how can we find him?" Kimihito asked.

Smith glanced over at the host. "The simplest answer…we can't. We don't know anything about the Organization except for what Roxas has told us. And if you've noticed, he is pretty tight lipped about those people."

"…yeah…I've noticed that." Kimihito said.

"And we have as well. Roxas doesn't say much about them, only their Organization name." Pyra said.

"But if he left…do you think he will come back?" Yukiko asked, feeling a bit more frantic.

"Honestly, I don't know. We don't know anything about this Organization…or why he even left in the first place."

Again, Kimihito hung his head a bit more. "Do…do you think it was my fault? Do you think he was upset that I went off on him?"

"Nah, I don't think Roxas would never return because of that." Smith said as he patted the man's head. "But according to Pyra, you did scold him pretty well."

Kimihito slumped more. "I know."

"But what if he doesn't return? What if he decides to stay away!" Yukiko exclaimed, tears perking the edges of her eyes.

Pyra sighed as she walked over the Yeti and threw a comforting arm over her shoulder. "Only time will tell. But honestly, I don't think Roxas would just abandon everyone here just because he got told off."

"Are you sure?"

"Nope, but I have faith he will return soon." Pyra said. But even though she said that, there was a hint of worry in her voice.

* * *

There was a significant pause as Roxas finished talked. It was completely silent, no one daring to make a sound because they were all trying to register what he just said.

"Wait, ho-how could you possible know that? Why would Xemnas lie to us?" Axel asked, a sinking feeling forming in his gut.

"Hell, if I know." Roxas said bitterly. "I'm just here to tell you what I heard. Xemnas isn't using kingdom hearts to help us. And I refuse to be the tool that will collect hearts for him."

"Roxas! How can I believe that? How do I know you're not lying?" Axel responded. "I mean, sure I don't like the guy, but even he wouldn't do that…"

"He's bad enough to release heartless into countless worlds. You know what those heartless will do." Roxas said angrily.

"How did you know about that?" Axel asked, trying to remember if he ever told Roxas that little detail.

"Like I said Axel, I overhead what they were talking about. They said that Kingdom hearts will not help us become whole. They said they released heartless and Nobodies into many worlds to look for me and collect hearts." Roxas said as his eyes narrowed further. "and they also said that when they find me, they will kill you."

Again, there was a long pause as Roxas dropped the ball. Everyone in the room slowly looked over at Axel, whose face was getting whiter by the second.

"W-What?"

"You heard me Axel. The main reason I came here was to warn you. They said you were too much…trouble to keep around. So, after they find me, they won't need you to babysit Xion anymore." Roxas said angrily.

"Hold on! What's going on here? What are you talking about? Who are you?" Sora asked, trying to wrap his mind around everything he just heard.

Roxas glanced over at the boy. It was so strange seeing him face to face. "I just explained it as simply as I could. I'm just here to warn Axel, that's all."

Axel was still trying to absorbed all he heard, but it was difficult. He just couldn't believe that they would cast him aside like that.

"Roxas…how can I know you're telling me the truth? Why would you warn me anyway?" Axel asked.

"If you believe me or not, that's up to you. As for why I warned you…It's because…" Roxas started, pausing briefly before looking axel straight in the eye. "It's because you gave me Ice cream."

"Huh? Ice cream?"

"Yeah. You and I sat on Twilight tower eating Sea-salt ice cream." Roxas said. "That's something…something friends do with each other."

Axel stared at the nobody in disbelief as he chuckled. "Roxas, we're nobodies. We don't understand the concept of friendship."

"That's a lie Axel."

Everyone's attention was changed to the girl with dark hair. She was looking at the older nobody with a soft look in her eyes. "Aren't we friends? Didn't you take me and Naminé to get Ice cream and watch the sunset as well? Didn't we talk and Laugh while we took breaks from watching over Castle Oblivion?"

"Yeah Axel." Naminé said, agreeing with the other girl. "You freed me from Marluxia. You treated me much better than he ever did."

"…"

Axel paused as he scratched the back of his head, trying to understand what was going on. "I just did that because it was too much of a hassle to be mean to you."

"Sure..." Naminé said with a giggle, obviously not believing him. "Axel, I don't think nobodies are as empty as Xemnas says they are. I mean, if they were, would you feel scared about disappearing? Isn't scared an emotion?"

Everyone in the room paused as they heard that. When thinking about her logic, she was right.

"No, it's because I remember what it was like when I had a heart, so I pretend to be scared." Axel responded.

"…You're wrong again Axel." Roxas said, getting everyone attention. "I don't remember my past…but as I live day to day, I notice something about myself. I notice that I…feel something. I feel happy, sad, angry, all of those. That's the reason I returned to HQ. I wanted to ask why I was feeling this way…or why I was even feeling at all. Since we didn't have hearts, I didn't think that was possible."

Axel turned his attention back to Roxas. Even he had to admit there was something very different about the young boy. It was true that Roxas didn't have memories, and thus he couldn't mimic emotions like the rest. So why did he show anger when he talked about Xemnas? How was that possible if nobodies didn't have hearts?

"Man, this is so confusing!" Axel said, scratching the back of his head. "I don't know what I'm supposed to believe now."

"…that's up to you to decide." Roxas said. "But I just came here to warn you. I'm never going back to the organization. I'm never collecting hearts for Xemnas. You shouldn't either."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Axel said. "If what you said is true, then I'm dead either way."

"Axel…" Xion said, sadly glancing up at the nobody.

Roxas turned his attention back to the girl, raising his eyebrow. "Who are you two anyway?" he asked the two girls.

Xion and Naminé glanced between each other. "Well, I'm Naminé. I was forced to stay here in this castle by Marluxia." She said with a kind smile. "It's nice to meet you Roxas."

"…Nice to meet you too." He said as she turned to the other girl. "and you?"

Xion scrunched her eyebrows a little. "I guess you wouldn't recognize me since we've only met once."

"We have?" Roxas asked.

"Yes. My name is Xion. I'm number 14."

Roxas felt his eyes narrow a little as he heard her name. He remembered seeing her vaguely when she first came to the Organization. Back then, she only wore a hood, so he didn't see her face. But seeing her face now, she looked…a little familiar honestly.

"So, you're Xion." Roxas said. "Xemnas mentioned you as well."

"He did?" Xion asked.

"Yes. He said you were supposed to copy my ability to use the Keyblade."

"W-WHAT!" Donald suddenly screeched.

"How is that possible? The Keyblade choses its wielder. You can't just copy it." Sora exclaimed.

"I'm only telling you what I heard." Roxas said in frustration. "I don't know how it works. Hell, I don't know why even I can use the Keyblade!"

Sora crossed his arms while tapping his foot. "None of this makes sense. You say you can use the Keyblade, right?"

Instead of answering him, Roxas stretched forth his hand and summoned the iconic weapon. It flashed into existence in front of everyone. He held it there for a few seconds before letting it disappear again.

"But how is that possible? You said nobodies don't have hearts, so why can you use it?"

"That was another question I wanted to asked Xemnas." Roxas said. "I don't know why I can use the Keyblade."

"UGH! It's so confusing!" Sora said, clasping the sides of his head dramatically.

Roxas felt the sides of his mouth curl upward again. Sora was exactly how his dreams depicted. Dramatic, a little childish, but had a strong sense of justice.

"But uh…how are ya able to copy the Keyblade?" Goofy asked.

"I um…I don't know." Xion said honestly. "I didn't even know that was my purpose."

"I don't know how either." Roxas said. "But Xemnas said they created Xion for that reason. They called her a puppet…or something like that."

"yeah, I remember them saying something like that." Axel said.

"They said that after she copy's my ability to use the Keyblade, then they will have the Keyblade under there complete control."

"But…I would never do that…I would never work with them, not after what they have done." Xion said, her eyebrows scrunching up.

Roxas was a little surprised by her response. "Why not?"

"What do you mean why not?" Xion asked, a bit of anger in her voice. "He's killed people to get hearts for us to collect. How can I just go along with that?"

"…So, you…" Roxas said curiously. "So, you also don't agree with what he's doing."

"Of course, I don't!"

Roxas nodded his head. He didn't really expect that from the so-called puppet. Since she was created by the Organization, he half expected them to brainwash her and convince her that their cause was a good one. But here she was, voicing her opposition to their plan.

"Aren't we forgetting something really important right now?" Axel spoke up. "None of us are strong enough to take on the organization! Even if what they are doing is wrong, what can we do about it?"

"I believe I might have an answer for that." A voice echoed through the entire room. Everyone frantically glanced around, looking for the source of the voice.

Suddenly, a Corridor of Darkness erupted from the ground. Everyone in the room readied their weapons. Two Keyblades from Roxas and Sora, Chakrams from Axel, A staff from Donald, and a shield from goofy. Everyone faced the Corridor as it vanished, leaving a person standing there.

Just from a glance, it was easy to tell this person wasn't from the Organization. He was wearing a maroon cape and a grey cloak that covered most of his body. His face was completely shrouded in red bandages save for his mouth and right eye. All in all, he looked extremely suspicious.

The mysterious figure chuckled a little. "What's with the hostility? I mealy wish to offer you my advice."

"Who are you!" Donald demanded.

"Oh, my apologies. I am known by many names, but you can call me Diz."

* * *

The last thing Rachnera expected when she arrived at Kimihito's place was to see a group of depressed Liminal sitting around the kitchen table. When she first walked out of the truck, she was greeted by a less than happy Lamia. She hardly said a word as she motioned for the spider woman to enter the house. Now, she was in the kitchen, watching a Centaur nervously polish her sword, a Harpy who was slogged on the table in misery, a Lamia who was burning god knows what on the stove, a mermaid who was…strongly gushing about a tragedy of some kind, and finally the most peculiar Liminal of the bunch.

A slime that was sitting there with her head resting on the table between her folded arms. This was the first time she had seen a slime before, let alone one that looked as humanoid as this one did.

But still, this atmosphere was terrible.

"So…aren't we a cheerful punch." Rachnera said dryly causing all liminal looked over at her with small glares on their faces…except for Mero.

"You must be Rachnera." Centore said as she rested her sword on the table. "My name is Centorea, the centaur."

"A pleasure." Rachnera said. "It seems you were informed of my arrival."

"We were, it's n-nice to meet y-you as well." Miia forced out, not looking the least bit sincere.

"Clearly." Rachnera responded with a flat look.

"I'm Papi! Hubby told us we were going to have another friend to play with." Papi said, her miserable look changing to one of excitement. "Do you want to play games with me?"

Rachnera chuckled as she reached over at patted the Harpy on the head. "Maybe some other time. I would rather get to know my new housemates first."

"Awe man!"

"I am Mero, the Mermaid. It's a pleasure to meet you." Mero said elegantly as she raised her skirt in a modified curtsy.

"The pleasure is all mine." Rachnera said as she glanced over at the last remaining…Liminal. "And, who might you be?"

Suu slowly glanced up at Rachnera, a look of complete misery on her face. She didn't say anything as she stood up and exited the room.

"…Was it something I said?" Rachnera asked.

"No, not at all. Suu is just really…sad right now. Isn't it wonderful?" Mero gushed.

"Excuse me?" Rachnera asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Please don't mind Mero. She has a…thing for tragedy." Centorea said as she resumed polishing her sword.

"Tragedy huh? Who died and left everyone so miserable?" Rachnera asked as she glanced around. "And where's Honey at? I expected him to welcome me to the house."

"H-HONEY?" Miia screeched, dropping the pan full of…purple goo on the floor. It sizzled and bubbled before completely melting a hole through the kitchen tile.

"Master is out with the Coordinator right now. They are looking for Roxas." Centorea said.

"Roxas? You mean the Liminal kid with Blond hair?" Rachnera asked.

Everyone paused as they glanced over at the Arachnera. "Yes…. how did you know?"

Rachnera surveyed everyone for a few seconds. Seeing their reaction clearly told her that Kimihito didn't mention the little fact that Roxas almost took her life. Then again, she couldn't really blame him either because these girls might see him quite differently if they knew.

"Oh, you know. Lucky guess." Rachnera said with a face that would make any professional poker player jealous.

Centorea narrowed her eyes a little. "Right…so anyway, Master is out looking for Roxas. He didn't return last night and everyone is a little worried, especially Suu."

Rachnera scratched her chin a little as she remembered the look on the boy's face when Kimihito scolded him. He looked as if he were devastated, but the scolding was mild, so she didn't think he would run away because of that.

"So, when's Honey going to come back?"

"Don't call him that!" Miia exclaimed.

"Depends on if they find him or not." Centorea responded calmly. "But on another topic, I've wanted to ask you a question."

Rachnera raised an eyebrow. "Shoot."

Centorea's eyes narrowed quite a bit as she clenched the handle of her sword. "Why did you kidnap my Master?"

Rachnera let out a long breath. This was going to be a long night, she could tell.

* * *

"You really test my patience by bringing these two Humans here."

"Awe! Don't be like that Kii! Big bro and Coordinator Smith are really good people." Yukiko said, gesturing to the two humans. Currently, the two humans were being held upside-down by Kii's vines.

"I don't care! You know my distaste for humans, yet you brought them here anyway."

"Kii! We don't have time for this!" Pyra growled at the Dryad. "We only brought them here because Roxas is missing. We wanted to see if he stopped by here recently."

Kii Slowly looked over at the Hellhound, her head cocked slightly. "Roxas is…missing?"

Both Yukiko and Pyra nodded. "We don't know where he is and you know the Rules Kii. We can't be out on our own without a host."

Kii looked as if she were at war with herself as she slowly lowered her arm. "Such a counterproductive rule." She said as she guided the vines which held Smith and Kimihito. They unwound themselves, causing the two humans to painfully hit the ground with a thud. "I thought it was strange that Roxas didn't show up this morning. But now you say he is missing?"

Yukiko nodded sadly. "So, you haven't seen him either? Do you have any clue as to where he could have gone?"

Kii shook her head, her leafy hair swaying from side to side. "Roxas and I don't converse that often, and when we do, he rarely talks about himself." She said as her angry glare landed on the two humans. "Now leave my forest. I will forgive your trespass this once, but if you return again…" she said, the vines and trees shaking around her.

"W-We understand!" Smith said as she and Kimihito turned and hightailed it out of there.

"And you two." Kii said, addressing Yukiko and Pyra. "Do not test my patience again by brining humans into my domain."

"We understand Kii…but you really should give bro a chance. He's a really nice person and he wouldn't do anything to hurt the forest." Yukiko said as she and Pyra turned to leave the forest.

The two girls quickly caught up to Kimihito and Smith, who were at the edge of the forest, trying to catch their breath.

"Y-You three know a Dryad?" Smith asked, clearly impressed.

"We met her through Roxas. Apparently, he made quite an impression when they first met." Pyra said

"…That is pretty impressive considering how much all the Dryad hate humanity."

"They all do?" Yukiko asked.

"Yes. It was even a chore to get them to sign the Culture exchange bill. It is rare to see one anywhere."

"I can see why. She really didn't want us there." Kimihito said before his countenance dipped a little more. "But that was our last lead…wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Pyra said. "I guess the only option left is to wait for him to return."

"If he even does return." Yukiko said, tears gathering in her eyes again.

Kimihito felt awful. Again, he didn't know if it was his fault or not, but seeing everyone so worried really hurt. Slowly, he rested a hand on Yukiko's head. "Why don't you two come over for dinner. Hopefully Roxas will return by then."

"Hey! What about me?" Smith asked dramatically. "I've been busting my tail all day trying to help you. I deserve a good meal too!"

Kimihito chuckled slightly as he nodded his head. "Well, the doors open Mrs. Smith."

* * *

Diz glanced around the room. It looked as if he were sizing everyone up until his gaze rested on Roxas and Axel. There was a slightly angry change in his countenance before his original composure returned.

"Ok then Diz," Axel said, flames already circling around his body. "That's a pretty nifty entrance considering you aren't wearing the coat."

"Those who have expansive knowledge of the darkness knows its secrets." Diz said. "But that is beside the point. You must pardon my rude behavior, but I couldn't help but listen in on your very interesting conversation."

"Yeah, and what of it?"

"It seems that we have a common enemy. I've been spying on Organization 13 and its movement for a while now and they must be stopped." Diz said as he looked over at Sora and his friends. "However, you are correct when you say none of you are strong enough to destroy Organization 13. That is where I offer you my assistance."

"And why should we trust you?" Sora asked. "You just show up out of nowhere and expect us to listen?"

Diz paused for a few moments before he started chuckling. "It seems that Riku was right when he described your interesting character."

"…"

Sora's eyes widened as that phrase came out of Diz's mouth. "W-What did you just say?"

"I need not repeat myself Sora. I believe you know exactly what I said." Diz said with a grin.

"Y-You've seen RIKU?" Sora exclaimed. "Where is he? Is he still trapped in the realm of darkness? When did you see him?"

Diz raised his hand to stop Sora from continuing. "I found him wandering the darkness and brought him to castle oblivion. My original intention was to use him to rid a few members of Organization 13. However, most of the members were called back to them headquarter recently."

"Y-You mean he's HERE?" Sora yelled. "Where is he!"

"yeah! If he's here, that means the king is here too!" Donald Exclaimed.

"Oh yes, the king." Diz said with another chuckle. "Unfortunately, they are no longer in castle oblivion."

"What? Why not?" Sora asked.

"It's because Riku went on a journey to master the darkness that nearly consumed him. Even though you defeated Ansem, a large fragment of him lives within Riku." Diz said. "King micky decided to accompany him on his quest to overcome and control the darkness."

Sora felt himself deflate a little. "So…he's not here then."

"Not anymore."

There was a brief pause before Sora suddenly perked up, a huge smile on his face. "Whatever then! At least we know he and the king are ok."

"Yeah, you're right." Goofy agreed.

"Indeed, but that still leave you Sora." Diz said, trying to get the conversation back on topic.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, king micky also knows that you are not ready to face the dangers of Organization 13. So, he devised a plan that will help you get stronger while defending the worlds against the heartless."

"Right…The worlds aren't at peace yet." Sora said sadly.

"Unfortunately, not. However, you did stop a significant threat and restored the worlds that were lost. That achievement alone is commendable, but it's not enough."

"So, then what do we do?"

"Micky has entrusted your training to an old master. I believe your friends know him as Yen Sid."

"Master Yen SID?" Donald exclaimed. "He's going to be teaching us?"

Sora cocked an eyebrow as he glanced over at his feathered frowned. "Who?"

"Master Yen Sid is the one who taught the king himself." Goofy said.

"Really?"

"Indeed. Master yen Sid will watch over your training, while I help Riku learn to control the darkness in his heart."

"Riku." Sora said quietly. "So, will he be able to do it? I mean, the darkness is evil, isn't it? Why would he want to use it?"

"You have to remember something Sora." Diz started. "Darkness cannot exist without the light, but neither light without the darkness. You represent the light, while Riku resides in darkness. It does not mean that one is less important than the other because both are needed to balance the worlds. And just because the words reside in the light, it also doesn't mean that Darkness is necessarily evil either."

Sora slowly nodded his head, absorbing the wisdom of this stranger.

Meanwhile, Roxas, Axel, Naminé, and Xion almost felt as if they didn't belong here. Through this whole conversation, Diz had completely ignored them.

"Um, hello? What are we supposed to do then?" Axel asked.

Diz turned to the nobody, a look of distaste on his covered face. "While you seem to have forsaken the Organization, all nobodies are an abomination. What you do and where you go means nothing, after all, that's what nobodies are."

Roxas narrowed his eyes at the man in red. "It's not like we chose to be this way."

"True enough, but that doesn't change what you are. If you want my advice, stay out of Sora's way while he takes care of Organization 13."

Hearing this caused even Sora to frown. "But Roxas can use the Keyblade. Couldn't we use all the help we can get?"

"We don't need help from a nobody. They are beings that don't truly exist and therefore they should all just fade away into nothingness, after all it's the fate of a nobody."

"Piss off!" Roxas hissed angrily.

Everyone glanced over at Roxas in surprise. Even Diz was at a loss for words. The way Roxas said that was so…real. Even Roxas was a little surprised by his own outburst. It seemed Yukiko wasn't the only one influenced by Pyra.

"H-How vulgar." Diz said.

"What gives you the right to say that about us?" Roxas asked angrily. "We may not have hearts, but we want to exist just like everyone else."

Axel glanced over at the young nobody again, clearly surprised by how much passion was in his voice. He didn't think that was possible for a nobody.

"Humph, Wishful thinking. A nobody cannot truly exist. Now that you have realized Xemnas's deception, you have to face the reality that there is no future for the Nobodies." Diz said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Roxas growled at the man again. This Diz guy was really getting on his nerves. But was he, right? Was that the fate of all nobodies? Were they really destined to fade away into nothingness?

"Why can't nobodies exist?" Roxas asked quietly.

"Because Nobodies lack a heart. They have no emotions, and thus they have no way to connect with anything or anyone. No one will remember you when you do finally disappear and no one will care that you are gone." Diz said as he looked over at Sora. "You would be the best one to confirm this. Countless times, it was the power of your friends and those who you are connected to that won your battles. That is the true power of the heart."

Roxas frowned a bit when he thought about what Diz said. When he was first found, this man's words were completely accurate. He didn't know anything about forming a connection with someone. He didn't know anything at all, nor did he feel anything.

But now…

Roxas though back on when he vanished for a few minutes when he learned to use the Corridor of darkness. When he returned, he remembered the concerned looks on Pyra, Yukiko, and even Kii's face. Yukiko was nearly scared to death that the darkness had overtaken him, while Pyra wacked his head because he made her worry. And they were worried just because he was gone for a few minutes. Even someone like Roxas could tell that they…that they cared for him.

"Your wrong!"

Everyone's attention was turned to the dark-haired girl standing next to Axel. She was also glaring at the man in anger. "We nobodies can make connections. We can make friends! I know this because…because Axel and I are friends."

"Preposterous! You only pretend to be friends, nothing more. There is no connection without the heart."

"Then I will prove you wrong." Roxas said, causing Diz and everyone else to look over at him. "I…I've been away from the Organization for a while now and I can say, without a doubt, that I have made friends. I care for them and will never let anything happen to them."

"You either do not understand what you are, or refuse to believe it." Diz said.

"Neither, it's true. And I will prove to you that Nobodies can truly exist." Roxas said firmly.

A grin formed on Diz's face. "Then I will take that challenge. I look forward to you proving your existence to me. But for now," Diz said, maneuvering the conversation back on topic. He turned to address everyone else in the room. "You must leave castle Oblivion. Members of Organization 13 will be here shortly to check on the status of the castle."

"But how?" Donald asked. "How are we going to meet up with Yen Sid?"

"The king has advised me of a way to transport you to Yen Sid's residence. He has also requested Naminé to join them as well."

"Me?" Naminé asked, pointing to herself.

"Yes. Your peculiar ability to change Sora's memory is something that the Master is interested in. He has requested you come and talk with him, but as for the rest of you…" Diz said, turning to the group of nobodies. "I would suggest you also leave this castle. Where you go or what you do is no concern to me."

Roxas nodded, already having a destination in mind. He turned to Axel, Xion. "What are you two going to do?"

Axel looked completely stumped as he scratched the back of his head. "I don't have a clue. Everywhere I go, the Organization would be able to find me." He said as he glanced down at Xion and Naminé. "What about you?"

Naminé looked a little uncomfortable as she glanced back at Sora. "I…I think I will go with them for now. I want to know…if I would be any help in trying to stop the organization."

"Very admirable." Diz said.

"Well…Xion said, glancing back up at Axel. "I would like to go wherever you're going."

"But that's the problem, I don't know where to go!" Axel said in annoyance. "Anywhere I can think of to go; the Organization could easily find me."

"Then why don't you two come with me." Roxas suggested.

Xion and Axel looked over at the spikey haired nobody. "Go with you? To where?"

"To where I have been this whole time. A place where the Organization hasn't found me yet."

Axel and Xion looked to each other a bit unsurely. "You sure that's a good idea?" Axel asked. "I mean, if the Organization does find you, then that world will be in danger, right?"

"Yes, but if the Organization is flooding the worlds with heartless, I want to be there to defend it as well." Roxas said, clenching his fists. "My friends are there and I need to protect them."

Hearing this really brought a lot of confused looks. Even Diz couldn't retort because of the amount of conviction in the young nobody's voice.

"Well…I don't have any objections, what about you?" Axel said as he looked over at Xion.

"It's the best plan we have."

"Alright then. Lead the way Roxas." Axel said.

Roxas simply nodded as he extended his hand and summoned the Corridor of darkness.

"Wait!"

Roxas, Axel, and Xion all glanced over at Sora.

"I don't know much about the nobodies, but I will say this…" Sora started, a small smile on his face. "even though you may not have a heart, I don't think that can stop you from making connections with others. After all, it seems that you have already done so, right?"

Roxas nodded as he though back on all his friends at the other world.

"And even though we just met, I can tell you aren't bad people. If you're ok with it, I would also like to be friends with all of you."

Again, Roxas felt the sides of his mouth curl upward. This was the type of person Sora was. He made friends with anyone and everyone no matter what they did or who they were.

"Sora, I will continue to train as well. And one day, I will help you destroy Organization 13." Roxas said.

"I will as well." Xion said as she turned to look at Axel.

"What? You want me to join the suicide squad?" Axel asked sarcastically. "I think I'll pass, but I won't object to being friends if you're ok with being friends with a nobody."

"It doesn't bother me. Just make sure you get stronger though. I would hate to wipe the floor with you again." Sora said with a grin.

"Ha! Next time you won't be able to take the heat, got it memorized?" Axel said as he tapped his temple. "Alright, enough of this mushy stuff. We got places to be, right Roxas?"

"Right," Roxas agreed. "Goodbye Sora. It was nice to meet you."

Sora raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. "Are you sure we've never met before? I just feel like…I know you from somewhere."

Roxas shook his head with a small smile. "Beats me." He said as he turned and wordlessly entered the Corridor. Xion and Axel followed soon afterwards, leaving the rest of the group alone in the castle.

* * *

Smith gave a sigh as he stacked some papers on her desk. It had been a long day of searching, but Roxas was nowhere to be found. The rest of Mon also came up empty handed, meaning they had absolutely no idea where he went either. It was nearing the end of the day now and smith was trying to calm her mind.

Dinner at Kimihito's would usually be one of fun and entertainment, but instead it was gloomy and depressing. Everyone was worried sick about the disappearance of Roxas. Even smith had to admit that she was a little worried.

Just as she thought that, a pillar of darkness shrank up right in front of her desk. It caused her to jump in fright, accidently leaning back to much in her chair and causing it to fall over. Papers scattered everywhere as she scrambled around, trying to get back to her feet.

"Um…Smith? What are you doing?"

Smith froze completely as a familiar voice rang in her ears. She finally pushed herself to her feet before looking across the desk into the confused blue eyes of a familiar boy.

"R-Roxas?"

Roxas simply looked confused again as he cocked his head. "Yeah, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong...WHATS WRONG?" She yelled, causing the boy to jump slightly. "Do you have any idea how WORRIED EVERYONE IS? WHERE WERE YOU?"

Roxas was clearly taken aback by her sudden outburst. Smith was normally a very composed person. "Um…What?"

"Everyone is worried sick about you! Where did you go? What…" Smith started before she noticed that there were two other people standing in the room with her. They were both wearing the same exact coat as Roxas.

One of them was a young girl about Roxas's age. She had black hair, blue eyes, and a petite figure. She was simply staring at her curiously.

The other person was much taller. It was a man that looked to be…maybe around her age actually. He had long red hair, bright teal eyes with two marks below them.

"W-Who are these people?" Smith asked.

"Oh yeah." Roxas said as he glanced over at Xion and a highly-amused Axel. "This is Number 8, Axel, and Number 14, Xion."

"Um…What?"

Roxas blinked a couple times as he took a deep breath. "There is something I need to talk to you about."

* * *

 **Authors Note: Yes, I know that many of you might complain that Roxas and Sora met way to soon, but it is what it is. Sora Still doesn't know that Roxas is his nobody, and Roxas doesn't know that either. They only met, so calm your tits. I have this under control.**

 **This chapter was pretty Dialogue heavy, but it needed to be in order to sort some stuff out. Now that this has happened, we won't see much or Organization 13 or other Kingdom hearts stuff for a while.**

 **But now Axel and Xion are here. Don't worry, because the main focus is still Roxas, but I also have a plan for Axel and Xion. So don't stress to much about that.**

 **Sorry for another cliff hanger, but this chapter was long enough. Over 10k words. I was surprised I could get this out so quickly despite its length. I guess I have a hard time writing smaller chapters, but you guys like the long ones, right? If you do like long chapters, please leave a review on the story. It really is appreciated, way more than you think. Thank you.**

 **Until then!**


	13. Chapter 13: Day 27

**Authors note: Hello everyone. Glad you liked that last chapter. First I would just like to respond to a guest reviewer who said I was full of bull when I claimed the last chapter was over 10k words. I would like to say that I'm really impressed you took the time to count every single word. Not! It really was over 10k words. Weather you believe me or not is up to you.**

 **Second, I would like to answer a question from a reviewer by the name of blarg7865. He brought up a good point in a review about how Roxas reacted to being in castle oblivion in 358/2 days. If you guys didn't know, he had a pretty bad reaction. The reason is highly speculated, but I'm going with the assumption that he has such a bad reaction was because Naminé was in the middle of Restoring Sora's memory at the time, and being so close while that process was happening is what set the reaction off. So, if any of you were wondering, that is my reasoning.**

 **But enough explanations, please enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 13

Day 27

Smith didn't know what to think as she stared at the three individuals standing on front of her. She heard Roxas speak, but her mind didn't really register his words. They had just spent the entire day looking for this kid, and he just literally appeared out of thin air in her office as if nothing happened. Not only that, but he brought a couple strangers with him as well.

Axel took a moment to glance around at the small office space. He didn't know what to expect when he walked out of the Corridor of darkness, but this was far from what he had in mind. His gaze wondered to the woman standing in front of them. She was pretty tall, had glossy black hair, and was wearing business-like attire. But what really surprised the red-haired nobody was the fact that she just witnessed them using the corridor of darkness and didn't say a word about it. In fact, this woman seemed to recognize it.

Still, his concern lasted for a moment before a grin crossed his face. Seeing the befuddled look on the woman's face was rather amusing, especially when she stared at him and Xion.

Xion's through process was much on the same wavelength as Axel. She looked around the small office curiously, wondering where Roxas had taken them and why he had taken them here.

"Hey Roxas, I think you broke her." Axel said, breaking the strange and awkward silence. His voice seemed to knock the coordinator out of her stupor as her gaze fell on him specifically.

"Broke her?"

Smith cleared her voice in a futile attempt to regain her composure. "Never mind that Roxas!" Smith said, blushing a bit out of embarrassment. "Where have you been? Who are these people?"

"…I just told you who they were." Roxas said, his eyebrow raised.

"Ok, you told me their names, but who are they?" Smith asked more firmly. "What are they doing here?"

Again, Roxas let out a long sigh. "I need to tell you something Smith." He stated. "I wouldn't usually tell anyone about this, but I feel that at least someone needs to know."

"Wow, hold up Roxas. You're not planning on telling her, right?" Axel asked, his eyebrow raised as he folded his arms.

Roxas glanced over at Axel, his face completely serious. "I trust Smith. She was the one who found me when I first came to this world."

"But you know the rules."

"Rule made by the Organization." Roxas said back, his fingers curling into fists. "Besides, our position would be much easier to explain if Smith knows the details."

"Well…that's true but…" axel said, still a bit unsure.

"Axel…" Xion said, getting the older nobodies attention. "I think we should trust Roxas on this one. He does have a point."

"Humph." Axel pouted jokingly. "Less than a day and you're already taking his side."

"No…that's not…"

Axel laughed as he ruffled her hair. "I'm just kidding around."

Having enough of being ignored, Smith decided it was time to speak up. "What are you guys talking about? What's going on?" She asked. "What are you trying to hide?"

Axel scratched the back of his head before shrugging. "Well, if you really trust her Roxas, go ahead."

"Trust me with what?" Smith asked, her patience wearing thin. It was like this guy was deliberately trying to ignore her.

Roxas turned back to the frantic coordinator. "I need you to listen very closely Smith. This might take a while, but there are some things you need to know about me…and Organization 13."

Smith paused as she gazed upon the serious look in Roxas's eyes. Considering the look in his eye now compared to when she first found him, this was a lot different. Before, his eyes were empty, void of all emotion and feeling. But now, those same eyes were burning with…something. And that something was telling her that what he was about to say was going to be very important.

"…Okay," Smith said as she slowly sad down in her chair, intertwining her fingers and resting her chin upon them. "What do you need to tell me."

* * *

Over the next hour or so, Roxas, Xion, and Axel told smith everything. They told her about being from another world, about the Nobodies, about Organization 13, and about the Keyblade. They didn't leave out a detail as they talked about Xemnas's plan and how he was going to flood the worlds with heartless so he can collect their hearts.

Smith just sat there silently, listening and absorbing the information like a sponge. They couldn't really see her expression all that well because her eyes were shrouded by a pair of sunglasses. But based on the sight incline of her eyebrows and the twitch of her lips every time an important piece of information was said, they could see she didn't miss a word.

When it was all said and done, a sudden awkward atmosphere filled the room. Smith was in such deep though that her brainstorm was almost visible to the other individuals. So much information was piled into her lap at one moment that it was almost impossible for her mind to process the entirety of it all.

"So…any questions?" Axel asked comically, trying g to breath the unbearable silence. "Got it all Memorized?"

Smith slowly looked up at the three individuals with the most blank look on her face. "I have more questions than I have the ability to ask. But if I understand correctly, you three are from another world…"

"Yep." Axel said.

"This Organization 13 is releasing monsters called heartless into other words…"

"Yeah." Roxas said.

"And he is using these creatures to gather hearts…or peoples…soul?"

"Close enough." Xion said quietly.

"And they were planning on using Roxas to gather these hearts from the heartless by destroying them with…your key…blade?"

"Wow, you memorized it all." Axel said, clearly impressed.

"…Thank you…But now, you three are on the run from this Organization because you abandoned them…right?"

Roxas nodded as he glanced over at Xion and Axel. "We…don't agree with what they're doing."

"Right, but you also mentioned nobodies as well. They are…empty shells of those whose hearts were taken by the heartless." She said as she looked up at them. "You three are nobodies as well?"

"Well, almost. Roxas and I are Nobodies, but Xion is a puppet that was created by the Organization."

"Created? Are you kidding me? These people are capable of creating life?" Smith asked, her eyes wide with disbelief and fear.

"Trust me, they are capable of much more than that." Axel said. "Which is part of the reason we are here after all."

"What do you mean?" Smith asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Neither the heartless or the Organization have found this world yet. But considering how hard they are looking, I don't think it will be much longer." Roxas said grimly.

Smith went silent again, pondering the additional information. Truthfully, this entire story seemed so farfetched. And secretly, she was wishing that Roxas would say "Just kidding" but she didn't know if he was capable of a joke as intricate as this. So, that only left the conclusion that he was telling the truth. And if that was true, then she was truly frightened. These three people said that these heartless creatures had the ability to plunge worlds into darkness.

"…W-What can we do to defend ourselves?" Smith asked, looking up at the three.

"…Wow, I am honestly surprised you believe us." Axel said with his eyebrows raised.

"Well, I've known Roxas for a few weeks now. I've realized that when he doesn't want you to know something, he just doesn't say anything. But he's doesn't lie. Besides, I'm the Coordinator for the cultural exchange program, so I've seen a lot of stuff. And honestly, aliens aren't that big of a deal." She said smugly.

"The exchange of what now?"

"We'll talk about that later Axel." Roxas said as he turned to Smith. "I want to protect this world Smith."

Smith simply cocked her head, but didn't say anything so he could continue.

"This world…This place…It has taught me so much and…I want to protect it and my friends."

The sides of Smith's mouth curled upward into a smile. "That's just like you, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, considering you almost killed Rachnera, it's kinda obvious that you're the kind of person who watches out for your friends."

"Who?"

Smith chuckled a little. "You know, the spider lady that kidnaped Kimihito? You almost killed her the other day?"

Roxas frowned a little before his eyes widened. He suddenly remembered the entire reason he left this world in the first place. The way he felt after Kimihito scolded him, the way he was starting to feel around his friends, finding answers was the main reason he left after all.

"Hold on, Spider lady?" Axel asked.

Smith looked up at the other two while they stared right back at her. "Do they not have Liminal in other worlds?"

"Liminal?" Xion asked.

"Well, we sort of do…" Roxas said, thinking about goofy, Donald, and king micky. They could be considered Liminal in this world.

"Speaking of which…" Smith said, getting their attention. "I think it's time we talk about what we are going to do about you two."

"Us?" Axel asked, pointing to him and Xion.

"Yes. You two are like Roxas I presume. So, that classifies you as a special type of Liminal in this world. And as such, you will need a host family to take care of you."

Axel scoffed. "I'm not a child you know. I'm already 25 years old…sort of."

"That's not the point." Smith said. "Liminal were just introduced to this world, and there are new laws concerning them."

"…Remind me what a Liminal is again?" Axel asked.

"Smith, can't they stay with me?" Roxas asked, interrupting the red-haired nobody.

Smith rolled her eyes a little. "Roxas, do you think Darling is invincible? He is already taking care of 7 Liminal. Do you really think he can take on two more?"

Roxas paused for a few seconds as he counted the numbers. "Seven? I thought he was only taking care of six including me."

"Well, something happened when you were gone. You will find out soon enough though." Smith said with an evil grin.

"…Ok."

"But…" Smith said as she glanced over at the dark-haired girl. "Kimihito may be able to squeeze her in. Since she looks like she is about your age, it would probably be best to enroll her in school as well, don't you think?"

"School?" Xion asked, looking a little interested. She remembered a couple missions she went on in twilight town. She remembered kids in that town talking about school and always wondering what it would be like to attend.

"Yeah. Surely you know what School is." Smith said, causing Xion to slowly nod her head. Smith then looked over at Axel. "Unfortunately, you are bit too old to go to high school."

"Damn straight. There is no way I'm going back to school." Axel said, crossing his arms defiantly.

Xion looked up at Axel with a bit of worry though. "I…I don't want to be away from Axel."

Smith's eyes softened a bit. "Don't worry, we aren't taking you away from him, but I do have an idea that would be interesting."

Xion, Roxas, and Axel all glanced over at the coordinator. "Well? What's your big idea?" Axel asked.

"Tell me Axel, how good are you at fighting?" Smith asked, resting her chin on her intertwined fingers again.

Axel simply grinned. "I can hold my own."

"Then I have a proposition for you. Often, there are Liminal that like to abuse the loopholes of the exchange bills. Since Humans can't do anything to stop them, I've assembled a group of individuals that will resolve the issue."

"Exchange bill?" Axel asked.

"I will explain in detail later. But to give you the easiest explanation, I want you to join the MON squad. You will go out on missions to stop Liminal's who are breaking the rules. Also, sometimes I'm so piled with paperwork that I can't even take the girls out. With you around, they can go out whenever they want."

"And what stops them from going out on their own?" Axel asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Just some stupid rules included in the exchange bill." Smith said. "But let's just say Liminal criminals aren't the only ones who can abuse the loopholes. Which is why Roxas is able to walk around on his own despite being classified as a Liminal. So, what do you say? We will even let you stay here at the exchange headquarters."

Axel chuckled a little. "Wow, left one Organization for the other. But either way, I'm doing missions." He said as he glanced over at Xion. "Will I be able to see Xion and Roxas?"

"Of course. In fact, Roxas can even show you where they will be living so you can visit on your off days." Smith said, a grin spreading over her face.

"Well…what do you think Xion?"

"Me?" The girl asked shyly. "I…think it would be a good idea. You would be helping people and have a place to stay."

"Well, I'm sold." Axel said. "Where do I sign up?"

Smith chuckled a little. She was beginning to like this guy. He was pretty carefree and somewhat easygoing. But she could also tell he was extremely dangerous. Something about his entire demeaner told her that he was not one to be messed with. "Well first of all, we should call it a night. It's getting late, and really could use some sleep after everything you guys dumped on me."

"Awe c'mon, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Axel asked with a grin.

Smith ignored him as she faced the three, a serious look on her face. "But I think we can agree on one thing."

"What's that?"

"We can't let anyone else know about this." Smith said, a serious look in her eye.

"That is a smart idea." Axel agreed. "If people knew that creatures like the heartless might come to this world, I don't think their fragile little minds could handle it."

"…Not the wording I would use," Smith said, "But keep what we talked about in this office. We don't need a panic ensuing."

Roxas paused for a few moments, thinking about some of the people he wanted to tell his secret too…but smith also had a point. The heartless were not here yet, and his friends didn't need that worrying thought plaguing their minds.

"I…understand." Roxas said.

"Glad to hear it. Now you better get home Roxas. I think there are a few that would like to see you."

Roxas simply raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Like I said Roxas, the others were worries sick about you."

"…They were? Why?"

Smith had to rub her temples, wondering if she should be frustrated or amused by his reaction. This boy had little to no common sense whatsoever.

"You will see why when you get home." Smith said finally as she turned to the other two occupants. "Since this is such short notice, I will have…" Smith glanced over at the young girl standing next to Axel. "…Sorry sweaty, but what's your name again?"

"X-Xion." Xion said quietly, still a bit nervous around the older lady.

"Right, Xion, since this is such short notice, I'm afraid you must stay here for the night. I don't think Darling's house will be able to accommodate another person just yet." She said with a kind smile.

"I understand." She said, though she was a little relieved because that ment she wouldn't have to be separated from Axel just yet.

"But in the meantime, why don't you two go with Roxas and introduce yourselves to Darling and his tenants. You will be spending a lot of time with them, so I would hope to break the ice sooner than later."

Axel scratched his chin. "Makes sense. Besides, I want to meet the person who will be taking care of Xion. I mean, he better treats her right." Axel said, his voice taking a slightly threatening tone despite his grin.

Smith simply waved him off with a chuckle, not the least bit worried. "Trust me, you will be practically begging him to take care of Xion once you meet him."

"She's right Axel." Roxas said, getting the two to look over at him. "Kimihito is a great person. He's been taking care of me since I arrived here and he never asked anything in return."

"Hmm… well I will be the judge of that."

"True. In the meantime, I will make a few phone calls to the school and have Xion enrolled."

"Which reminds me, why does Xion and Roxas have to go to school?" Axel asked.

"Its customary on this world Axel." Smith said seriously. "All young boys and girls go to school at their age."

"It's fine Axel." Xion said, causing the older nobody to look down at her. "I…am curious as well. I want to learn about this world…since we might be staying here for a while."

"Hmm…Fine, I guess."

"School is useful." Roxas said. "It…helped me learn so much about…"

"About what?" Axel asked.

"…Never mind. We should get going." Roxas said, suddenly changing the conversation. "I guess after we meet Kimihito, both Xion and Axel should come back here?"

"That would be best. We must remodel Darlings house…again so he can accommodate one more person. But I swear, if he gets any more tenants, that man is going to die of exhaustion." Smith said as she picked up the phone. "Now be off with you, I have some phone calls to make." She finished, making a shooing motion with her hand.

* * *

"So…why are we walking to this house instead of using the Corridor?" Axel asked as he, Xion, and Roxas were walking down the dimly lit sidewalk.

"People in this world aren't use to magic." Roxas explained. "It…scares them. Besides, you need to know how to find this place, right?"

"Yeah, but once I know where it is, it's just a quick Corridor later and BAM! I'm there."

"But smith also said to keep quiet about those things. No one else should know we are from another world." Xion said. "In a way, that makes sense because we aren't supposed to meddle with other worlds, right?"

"True, but it's a little late for that." Axel responded. "We're still here and it doesn't look like we're leaving soon."

"And I'm ok with that." Roxas said as they continued walking. "This place has become more of my home than the Organization ever was."

Axel and Xion stared at the blond nobody for quite a while. They could see a small smile etched on his face.

"…You really have changed, Roxas." Axel said with a grin. "And I want to find out how."

It didn't take much longer before the three former members of Organization 13 were standing in front of a large house. Even Axel had to give a low whistle at its size. "Man, this guy must be loaded."

"Not really, he just has a lot of Liminal to take care of." Roxas responded.

"Which reminds me, no one has explained what a Liminal is yet." Axel grumbled.

Roxas blinked a few times as he remembered that this was the first-time Axel and Xion have been to this planet. They don't know about the exchange bill, Liminals, the laws, or anything. That would be a very long conversation when the time came.

"I will tell you later. Let's just say that there are…Different kinds of people on this planet."

"What do you mean?" Xion asked.

"It's a long story. I'm pretty sure you will find out for yourself once we meet Kimihito." Roxas said as he approached the door. He was just about to reach out for the handle when it suddenly turned on its own. The door swung open, nearly hitting the nobody right in the face, but luckily, he moved back just in time.

"I think it's time to get you girls home. It's getting late, and I don't want to worry your hosts." A familiar voice from the doorway said. The person's hand was on the handle, but he was still turned toward the entrance of the house.

"I don't give a fuck what my host thinks. I already know they couldn't care less about me!"

"And…I don't think Akio is back yet."

Roxas felt his heart start beating quite a bit faster. He knew those voices instantly. This strangely nice feeling began to spread through his body. It had barely been a day since he had seen them, but as this feeling continued to envelope him, Roxas realized something.

He missed them.

"I know, I'm sorry. I really wish I had the power to do something about…" Kimihito said as he slowly turned around to walk out the door. However, he stopped in mid-sentence when he saw someone familiar standing there.

"We know big bro, but you already do so much for u…" Yukiko said as she approached the door to walk out as well. She was second to stop dead in her tracks.

"…Um, why are you two blocking the door? What's u…" Pyra said finally as she stood next to Yukiko, her red eyes widening quite a bit when she saw who was standing there.

There was an extremely awkward pause as the three stared at Roxas, not even acknowledging the other two-standing next to him. Their mouths were slightly ajar with a mixture of shock a relief in their eyes. Tears even perked the side of Yukiko's eyes as she slowly brought her paws to her mouth.

"R-R-Roxas?" She squeaked, tears already streaming down the side of her cheeks.

"I-Is that you? You A-Asshole." Pyra growled, her paws clenching into fists and her eyes narrowing, glistened with unshed tears glistening. Her red irises were also glowing red with rage.

Seeing the looks on their faces, even Roxas could already begin to understand what Smith was talking about. Each of their expressions, though kinda different, all said the same thing.

They were extremely worried about him.

When he realized this, he felt his heart swell quite a bit. The feeling he had earlier was replaced of one of shame. Shame that he was the cause of their worry.

"H-Hey Yukiko, Pyra, Kimihito." Roxas said quietly, stuttering slightly.

"ROXAS!" Yukiko Screamed out as she literally flew through the air, sailing at the unsuspecting nobody and slamming into his frame with enough force to snap his spinal cord in half. She claimed her arms around his shoulders so hard that his head threatened to pop right off.

Roxas went flying backwards past his other two shocked companions before landing flat on his back. Axel and Xion were just watching, wide eyed in confusion at the extremely bizarre action of this new stranger.

Yukiko buried her face into his shoulder, balling her eyes out and soaking his coat with her tears. Her entire body seemed to clamp around onto him like a barnacle while shaking nearly uncontrollably. In any case, it didn't look like Roxas would get her off any time soon.

"Yukiko?" Roxas gasped, having the wind knocked clean out of him.

"Roxas! Where did you go? W-What happened?" Yukiko's muffled voice said through his coat.

Slowly, Roxas sat up with the hysterical Yeti still attached to him. This did nothing to pry her off, rather, she curled her legs around his waist, further restricting his movements.

"Well, I-" Roxas started before a furry fist came out of seemingly nowhere and slamming right into his cheek bone. His entire head jolted to the side as a bit of blood flew from his mouth. His lip was split wide open and his teeth grinded against the gums, causing even more blood to trail down his face.

"…Ouch." Roxas said, a bit surprised by how hard he had been hit. Not even Zombina's punch could compare to that. Slowly, he looked up into the furious red eyes of Pyra. She was standing right above him and Yukiko, her fist still extended and shaking with nearly uncontrollable rage. Her teeth were bare, showing her extended canines, but what caught his attention the most was the liquid substance that dotted her cheeks.

Tears.

There were burning tears running down her cheeks as she glared down at him.

"You have a lot of DAMN nerve to just show up like this after taking off." Pyra growled angrily as she reached down and grasped his coat collar with both hands. "You disappear without a TRACE! You don't let anyone know where you were! You don't answer ANY of our calls or Texts! And you just POP up like nothing happened?"

"Pyra…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Pyra roared, shaking his coat rather roughly. "Do you have ANY idea how worried everyone was? Yukiko was sobbing her eyes out! Suu locked herself in your room! I was…." Pyra said, her voice trailing off a bit as her grip on his coat loosened a little. "I was…"

Roxas stared up at the hellhound as she slowly kneeled next to him, her head dipped so he couldn't see her eyes. But he could still see the tears as they landed softly on the concrete. This was the first time he had ever seen Pyra cry. In fact, he didn't think she was capable of it.

For the first time in his life, Roxas felt something that was much worse than his feelings when Kimihito scolded him.

Guilt.

This emotion was welling up in his chest as he listened to Yukiko continue to cry on his shoulder while Pyra silently shed tears beside him. And to make everything worse, he was the only one to blame for their current state.

He looked down at the grown, the emotion of guilt completely taking over his entire being. He didn't know what to say, or what to do to make this horrible emotion vanish. It continued to eat at him like a parasite, to the point where he felt his own eyes grow wet.

"I…I'm sorry." Roxas said. He swallowed, trying to find more words to say, but they wouldn't come. It was the only thing he could say in this situation. He didn't think he could trust his voice to say anything else.

Slowly, Pyra looked up at him, her eyes widening a bit when she saw actual tears in his eyes as well. She had known Roxas for a few weeks now and he had the emotional capacity of a stump, so seeing those tears, she could clearly see the regret in those crystal blue orbs. That was probably the most emotion she had seen from Roxas since the time he nearly broke her wrists.

Roxas was hating the way he was feeling right now. It was horrible, so much so that he wanted to do anything to make the feeling go away. He wanted to do anything to make it right with all the people that worried about him. But all he could say was sorry. He didn't know what else he could do.

His though process was interrupted when another pair of soft arms wrapped around his neck, a face occupying his other shoulder. He looked over to see the top of Pyra's head, her canine ears brushing gently against the tip of his nose.

"You damn asshole. If you're going somewhere, at least let someone know." She whispered harshly.

"…I'm sorry." He whispered again, making sure to keep a mental note of that for the future. He really didn't want anyone to worry about him, not if it was going to make him and them feel this way. But, with those words from Pyra, Roxas felt a bit of the guilt lift off his shoulders, even if it was just slightly.

Slowly, he even found himself wrapping his arms around his two best friends, holding them close while they all sat there on the ground. Even though he was gone for a little over a day, he already missed them so much.

Kimihito felt himself smile slightly as he looked at the adorable scene. Pyra may be much more direct with her approach, but it seemed to have quite the effect on the boy. This was the first time Kimihito had seen Roxas cry as well.

Still, he and Roxas needed to have a talk…but for now, he would just let he and his friends be.

Axel and Xion glanced at each other, clearly not sure as to what was going on with this entire situation. They had so many questions running through their minds that they didn't even know what to ask first.

First of all, they noticed that these two girls had a few different features from regular humans. The girl that slugged the hell out of Roxas had fur on her arms and legs, as well as a bushy tail and sharp canine ears. The other girl had white fir on her arm and legs, but her other features looked completely human. Was this the Liminals that everyone was talking about?

"Um…Sorry to interrupt your…moment…" Axel said awkwardly. "But, what's going on?"

Roxas looked up at the fellow nobody's, remembering that he and Xion were still there.

Pyra and Yukiko pulled away from Roxas slightly as they glanced over at Axel and Xion. They both had confused looks on their faces before they noticed that these two strangers were wearing the exact same coat as Roxas.

"W-Who are you?" Yukiko asked, her voice hoarse and her eyes puffy red from crying.

"I should be asking the same thing. How do you know Roxas…and…why did you punch him in the face?" Axel asked with a touch of amusement in his voice. "You have a killer right hook."

"…Your telling me..." Roxas said, rotating his jaw before wincing.

Seeing that they weren't going to get an answer from this man, Pyra looked at Roxas with an expecting glint in her eye. "Who are they?"

"Oh, sorry." Roxas said, reaching over Yukiko's shoulder and wiping his tears away. "Yukiko, Pyra, this is Axel and Xion. They are members of Organization 13. I…returned to the Organization recently and…something happened."

Pyra narrowed her eyes. "Something happened? Like what?"

"None of your beeswax" Axel said, crossing his arms. He glanced over at Kimihito, ignoring Pyra's glare. "So, you Kimihito or something?"

"Um…Y-Yes." Kimihito said, clearly intimidated by this new guy. Truthfully, he didn't even realize the red-haired man was standing there until a few seconds ago.

"Well, to make things easier, did Roxas say anything about Organization 13?"

Kimihito slowly nodded. "He did, but he didn't say much about them. Just that they were the first people to find him after his amnesia."

"Amnesia huh?" Axel grinned in amusement. "Well, that's all you need to know about them. Let's just say that some stuff went down with Organization 13, leaving me and Xion needing a place to crash. Got it memorized?"

Kimihito stared blankly at this guy as he slowly nodded. "Um…if you're with Roxas, then you should probably talk with the exchange coordinator, Mrs. Smith."

"Done and Done." Axel said with a grin. "But you see, Smith has plans for me, but Xion needs a place to stay. Apparently, she's going to go to school soon with Roxas."

Kimihito raised an eyebrow as he looked over at the young girl standing behind Axel.

"Um…Nice to meet you." Xion said quietly.

Kimihito gave her a kind smile as he scratched the back of his head. He began to wonder if his house was eventually going to take up the entire block at this rate. "Well…if Mrs. Smith said so…I guess it could work." He said as he glanced down at the pile of bodies known as Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra. "You know these people Roxas?"

Roxas nodded. "They…needed a place to go." He said, trying to pick his words carefully.

Again, Kimihito scratched the back of his head, a bit of an unsure smile on his face. "Well, if they're your friends, then they are welcome in my house."

Axel grinned as he reached out and slapped the man on the back. "I think we will get along."

Kimihito winced a bit, his back throbbing. "But I don't have any extra rooms right now, but I guess…would you be ok with the couch?"

Xion paused a little before shaking her head. "Um…Mrs. Smith said we could stay at the exchange place while the house gets remodeled."

Kimihito gave a large sigh before chuckling. "I think my house makes up about 50% of the local constructions workflow as this point." He joked. "But that's ok with me."

"Thank you." Xion said, a small smile on her face.

"Whelp, I think you will be just fine here." Axel said, glancing at Xion. "But I'm beat. What do you say we head back to the exchange and crash for the night? I could use some serious shut-eye."

Xion nodded softly as she glanced over at Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra. "Roxas…"

"Yeah?"

Xion gave him a small smile. "Thank you. If it wasn't for you, Axel and I would still be at castle…" She said before she glanced over at Pyra and Yukiko. For some reason, they were staring at her. There looks weren't exactly hostile, but it was still a little unnerving.

"…It was no problem." Roxas said, realizing what she was about to say. "I just…felt like I needed to tell Axel about it."

"You felt like it huh?" Xion asked. "…Maybe Naminé was right about the nobodies." She finished with a smile as she turned back to axel. "Let's go."

"Right." Axel said as he faced Kimihito. "Nice to meet you. You better take care of Xion though."

"It was nice to meet you." Xion said as she turned to Pyra and Yukiko. "I…Look forward to getting to know you two as well."

Pyra and Yukiko didn't respond, just watched as Axel and Xion turned and walked down the street, disappearing into the night. Now that everything had settled down, Pyra and Yukiko looked at their missing friend.

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" Pyra growled.

"Yeah! We were worried about you." Yukiko agreed.

Roxas felt a small smile on his face now. The guilt he was feeling was still there, but it has subsided a little. "You're right, but there are some things I still can't tell you though."

Pyra narrowed her eyes again. "And why's that?"

"Because Smith asked me not to."

That got their attention. "Smith?" Kimihito asked.

"I saw her right when I returned. I thought…I thought she would know what to do about Axel and Xion."

"Speaking of which…" Yukiko said, throwing a suspicious look at Roxas. "Who were they exactly?"

"It seems like a long conversation." Kimihito interrupted before Roxas could say anything else. "Why don't we all head inside. Yukiko, Pyra, would you like to spend the night now that Roxas is back?"

Yukiko's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "I would LOVE TO!" She exclaimed.

"It's better than returning home," Pyra remarked as she let go of Roxas and stood up.

Roxas tried to do so as well, but Yukiko was making it a little difficult. She was still clinging onto him, and it didn't look like she was going to let go no matter what he said. But at least she was nice enough to let him stand. Though Roxas winced a little as he felt a sharp pain in his jaw. Pyra sure did clocked him hard. He also licked the side of his lip where his lip was split.

Yukiko noticed the thin trail of blood before she threw a glance at the hellhound. "Yesh Pyra, you think you hit him hard enough?"

"Nope. I should have hit him harder." She said flatly as she looked over at Roxas. "That's what you get for making me worry."

"I'll keep that in mind." Roxas said with a smile.

"You better."

* * *

It was complete an utter chaos when Roxas entered the house. One after another, the Liminal girls bombarded the nobody with questions and affection. Miia wrapped him up good and tight in a full body embrace. She kept gushing about how worried she and the others were. It took a lot of coaxing from Kimihito to get her off.

Papi slammed into him hard, claiming that it was so gloomy and sad without him there. Centorea lightly scolded him for making everyone worry. But also gave him a soft hug, showing that she truly was glad he wasn't hurt. Mero was…kinda depressed the whole tragedy was over, but was still glad nothing happened to him.

Seeing all their reactions, Roxas couldn't help but feel a bit more guilty. He truly didn't mean to make them worry…in fact, it didn't even occur to him that they would worry about him. Now he really needed to be careful from now on.

But as the night drew on, Miia, Centorea, Papi, and Mero all went to their respective rooms to get some shut eye. They were emotionally exhausted because of the last few days. Currently, Kimihito, Yukiko, Pyra, and Roxas were all sitting at the dinner table.

"I wanted to wait for the others to go to bed so we can talk." Kimihito said. "I don't like keeping secrets, but this is Roxas's secret to share, not mine."

"Secret?" Yukiko asked.

Roxas nodded. "He's talking about Organization 13 and my magic. Only you, Pyra, Kimihito, Smith, Suu, and Kii know about it. And after talking with Smith about the full situation, she doesn't want that many people to know about what I can do…about what Axel, Xion, and I can do."

"Speaking of which," Pyra said. "Who are those people? I know you said they are from Organization 13, but what are they doing here?"

"That…complicated. But like Axel said, there was certain circumstances that left Axel and Xion without a place to live. All three of us left Organization 13."

"Why?" Yukiko asked. "Didn't they find you first? Don't you have friends there?"

Roxas felt his hands curl into fists under the table. "I am not friends with them. We…didn't believe in what they were doing, so we left." Roxas said vaguely. "Since Axel and Xion didn't have anywhere else to go, I brought them here. They are…they are my friends too."

"…Ok then." Kimihito said, beginning to understand the situation even though he could tell that Roxas was being purposely vague.

"Bro, are you really satisfied with just that?" Pyra asked.

"Yep." Kimihito said glancing at the hellhound. "We all have secrets Pyra, so when Roxas is ready to tell us the whole story, he will."

"…You really are too kind, bro." Pyra scoffed.

"Yep! That' why big bro is awesome!" Yukiko said, smiling widely.

"…Thanks…Kimihito." Roxas said softly, truly grateful for this man's consideration.

"Well now that that's settled, there is something else I need to mention Roxas." Kimihito said, feeling a little nervous now.

"What's wrong?"

"Um…There is something you need to know. Some things happened while you were gone and…just stay calm ok?" Kimihito said.

Roxas frowned a little but nodded. He watched as Kimihito walked out of the room and up the stairs. Yukiko, Pyra, and Roxas all glanced at each other in slight confusion, wondering what the host was up too.

It didn't take long before his footsteps echoed down the stairs. It was also followed by many other footsteps as well, almost as if an entire crowd of people were walking down the stairs after him. Soon, Kimihito was standing in the doorway to the kitchen again.

"Roxas, please stay calm and…meet Rachnera."

Roxas cocked his head in confusion before he saw this so called…Rachnera.

"Hey kid. You really gave me a scare, you know that?"

Roxas felt his eyes widen quite a bit when he saw the familiar Arachnera standing there with a grin on her face. Her arms were folded and her six eyes were staring at him in amusement.

Instantly, Roxas was on his feet, the Keyblade bursting into existence in his hand. The chair he was sitting on fell backwards with a thud.

"Woah Roxas, hold your horses!" Kimihito said frantically.

"What's going on? Why is she here?" Roxas growled, glaring at the spider-woman.

"Oh? You didn't get the memo?" Rachnera said with a grin. "I live her now. Honey her was kind enough to offer his services as a host to me."

"Offer my services huh?" Kimihito said flatly. "I…think there was a little more to it than that."

"details, who needs them." Rachnera said, waving her hand around.

Roxas looked between Rachnera and Kimihito a few times, trying to digest this situation. "You're serious? You're her host?"

"That's right."

Yukiko was looking at everyone in confusion. "Wait, what's going on? How do Roxas and Rachnee know each other?"

"Oh, we go way back little Yeti." Rachnera said with a grin. "Almost to about last night actually."

"Yukiko," Pyra said, getting the girls attention. "A lot happened the other night with Kimihito, Rachnera, and Roxas."

"How do you know about it then?"

"Oh, Honey!" Rachnera said, tugging Kimihito's sleeve. "Will you let me tell the story?" she asked with an overly sweet voice.

"S-Sure." Kimihito said against his better judgement.

"Well you see Yukiko, I kidnapped Kimihito yesterday and apparently Roxas here freaked out." Rachnera said, gesturing to Roxas. "He asked Pyra to help find me, and they did. I have to say, I think that was the first time I ever feared for my life."

"Feared for your life?"

"Roxas tried to kill her." Pyra said flatly.

"What? Really?" Yukiko asked, looking over at Roxas, who was still on guard around this spider woman.

"Yeah." Roxas admitted. "But why are you her host Kimihito? She kidnapped you."

"Well, it's true, but she didn't really intend to hurt me Roxas." Kimihito said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "She just wanted to make a point."

"A point?"

"Yep!" Rachnera took over. "I just wanted to prove that all humans are scum. I had yet to see an example of a good person until honey here showed up."

"Why do you think that?" Roxas asked.

"Pardon?"

"Why did you think all humans are scum?"

"Humph, you wouldn't understand." Rachnera said, her demeaner changing slightly. "Let's just say I had a couple bad encounters with humans that really left a foul taste in my mouth."

"Because of a couple humans, you thought they were all scum?"

"Pretty much."

There was a pause for a moment as everyone processed her words. Slowly, Roxas lowered the Keyblade and let it vanish. He frowned a little as he looked up at her.

"So then is it fair to say that all spider people are kidnappers then? Just like how you kidnapped?"

Rachnera stared at the young boy, her arms unfolding slightly.

"Because you kidnapped Kimihito, tied him up, and made others worry about him, is it fair to judge your entire race based on that?"

"That…that's different."

"Is it?" Roxas asked, his eyes narrowing a little.

Rachnera didn't have a retort to that. Now that he brought up that specific point, she couldn't find anything else to say. It really made her feel like a hypocrite.

Pyra also was thinking about his words. But her experiences with humanity vs Rachnera's was like comparing fire to ice. She had seen the absolute worse that humanity had to offer, which gave her a strong prejudice against humans. But what Roxas said really did stick out to her.

"Humph, touché kid. But I just wanted to introduce myself, hoping that you wouldn't try to attack me again when you would see me walking around in the hallways." She said, grinning to show her sharp teeth.

"If you threaten my friends…" Roxas said, his eyes narrowing again. "I won't hold back."

Rachnera grinned again as she turned to exit the kitchen. "I think I am beginning to like you. Have a good night, Roxas. Oh, and you too Yukiko and Pyra." She said as she left, her steps echoing up the stairs.

"…That was tense." Yukiko said.

"True that." Kimihito responded with a yawn. Actually, the encounter went a lot better than he expected. "But I think it's time to go to sleep for me as well. Tomorrow is Sunday thank God."

"Yeah…I'm pretty tired too." Roxas said, realizing that he hadn't slept yet.

"Oh, one more thing Roxas," Kimihito said, getting the young Nobodies attention. He turned to him before bowing slightly. "I'm sorry I scolded you. I should have realized you were trying to save me and I shouldn't have said some of the things I did."

Roxas blinked a couple times. He really didn't expect this, especially since he thought he was in the wrong, not Kimihito. But here the guy was, apologizing for what he said.

"you…really don't have to apologize." Roxas said. "I…I guess I was just so worried that I didn't know what else to do. I wanted to destroy anything that threatened you."

"I know, but Roxas…" Kimihito said. "Before you try and kill someone, please try and settle things as peacefully as possible. Killing should be an absolute last report. Can you promise me that?"

Roxas frowned a little, thinking about all the threats that could happen. What would be the point of sparing something that was trying to kill you? But then thinking about Rachnera, he may have gone a little overboard with her, so maybe there was some truth to Kimihito's words.

"I promise." Roxas said.

"Thanks." Kimihito said with a yawn. "Yukiko, Pyra, make sure you both message your hosts. There are some spare pajamas and blankets in the closet for you both."

"Thanks bro!" Yukiko said happily.

"So, it's the couch again huh?" Pyra said. "Well, it's not like your house has room for a guest room."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Kimihito laughed as he turned and walked up the stairs to his own room.

* * *

After a little more talking with Yukiko and Pyra, Roxas retired to his bedroom while the girls took a bath. Again, Kimihito showed his thoughtfulness by giving them both a pair of pajamas for times that they wanted to stay the night. Of course, spending the night would be limited to non-school nights for obvious reasons.

Roxas walked up the stairs to his room before slowly pushing open the door. Once walking inside, he realized that someone was already there. The one person he had yet to see since he got home.

Suu was sitting in her kiddy pool, slowly flipping through the pages of one of his text books before her gaze landed on him. There was a pause for a moment before her emerald eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, her smile stretched from ear to hear.

"Roxas!" She exclaimed.

"hey Suu…Sorry to worry yo-"

Suu didn't even wait for him to complete his sentence. Her arms shot out like stretchy tendrils before wrapping themselves around his body. Then like a rocket, the rest of her body shot out of the pool, violently colliding with his. Upon contact, her form burst into a shapeless mass that seemed to cover his entire torso for a second. However, the mass then formed back into the adorable girl who was hugging the nobody as if her life depended on it.

"Suu was…Suu was so worried!" She exclaimed, rubbing her face gently against his chest.

Again, Roxas felt a spike of guilt for making his friends feel this way. He slowly reached down and stroked her gelatinous scalp, gently massaging the main feeling on the top of her head, which caused her to hum contently.

"I'm sorry I made you worry Suu, but don't worry. It won't happen again."

Suu simply squealed as she encircled her arms around him tighter like a rubber band. "I'm glad you're back."

* * *

It was later in the night that Roxas found himself laying on his back with the lights out. The moonlight was flowing through the window, blanketing the entire room with a gentle glow. Luckily it wasn't a full moon or else Kimihito would be having a very difficult time right about now.

But Roxas had his eyes closed, breathing softly with one hand resting on the edge of the bed. One of Suu's feelers was gently wrapped around his appendage as she also slept soundly. It was so comfortable and peaceful, letting his mind slowly drift into slumber. He didn't have to worry about the Organization anymore. He didn't have to wonder what they were up to, or if he had to return to them. No, this was his home now, and he wasn't going anywhere.

His mind was on the brink of sleep before he felt a sudden shift of weight on the mattress. The entire bed seemed to slant in one direction for some reason. Being half asleep, Roxas slowly muttered tiringly with his eyes closed. "What's wrong Suu? Are you having a hard time sleeping?"

Suu didn't answer as the mattress continued to shift around before splitting into two separate weights. This was very strange because Suu had never done that before. She had crawled into his bed a few times in the past, but never split herself.

Roxas's thought process completely changed when he felt two bodies suddenly snuggle right up next to him, a pair of solid heads resting on his shoulders. To make matters even more confusing, a furry arm from one side wrapped itself around his neck before a face buried itself in the crook of his neck. On the other side, an arm rested over his chest while sharp claws gently poked him. The faint smell of shampoo tickled his nose along with the warm sensation of two bodies pressing themselves against his side.

All in all, Roxas concluded that this was not Suu. Groggily, he opened his eyes to find himself in nearly the exact same position he was in last week. He noticed that Yukiko was on one side, snuggled as close as possible with one arm around his neck, while Pyra was on his other, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yukiko? Pyra? What are you…doing?" Roxas asked with a yawn.

"The couch isn't that comfortable." Pyra's voice said tiringly.

"Yeah, your bed is much…better." Yukiko drawled, yawning into his ear before burring her face back into his neck.

"…"

Being half asleep, Roxas's mind wasn't really firing all the right signals. He yawned again as he tried to sit up. However, two bodies refused to let that happen.

"Hey, stop moving…around" Pyra lightly growled.

"I can sleep on the couch if you…want the bed."

"Just shut up and let me sleep, or I'll be…Grouchy in the…morning." Pyra said, already drifting back to sleep. Her body became completely relaxed and Roxas could feel her rhythmic breathing against his side.

He could also feel Yukiko's soft breath against his neck, which would have probably caused a reaction had he not been so tired.

But after a few seconds of coming to terms with this new situation, Roxas slowly let his mind rest again. It wasn't uncomfortable, just unexpected. Though he had to admit, that feeling this close to his friends was…nice. As his mind finally fell asleep, his own arms curled around his two friends, unconsciously pulling them closer.

* * *

Sora gasped loudly as his eyes shot open. His face was beat red as the…slightly erotic dream came to an end. He took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm his thumping hearts. The dream was so vivid that he could almost feel those bodies next to him, sleeping.

Looking around the room, Sora finally managed to get his heart back under control. He remembered this was a room Yen Cid offered him when they arrived at the tower.

But still…

"Roxas…" Sora whispered, remembering the person who was the center of the dream. He reached up and rubbed his eyes. "What kind of dream was that?"

* * *

"Well, what is the report?" Xemnas asked. He and the rest of Organization 13 was sitting on their tall chairs in the meeting room.

"It seems that Castle oblivion has been deserted." Marluxia said. "Had you left me there, I would have made sure that Sora became the perfect puppet for our plans."

"And then used him against the Organization like the fool you are." Saix said angrily.

Marluxia chuckled. "Guilty, but you already knew that didn't you Xemnas. After figuring out my plan, we could have still used Sora."

"And we will," Xemnas responded. "But what of Axel and the puppet?"

"They are gone as well. We don't know where, but we should find them." Marluxia said.

"The odds are unlikely. We don't have the slightest clue as to where he would go. Finding him among the stars is not in our favor." Luxord commented.

"But what is the reason behind his and Xion's disappearance?" Xemnas pondered.

"We don't know, but I'm beginning to not care. Axel has been enough trouble as it is. I suggest we just rid ourselves of him once and for all." Saix growled.

Xemnas paused for a few moments as he turned and nodded in approval. "Search the worlds for Axel, Xion, and Roxas. When you find them, eliminate Axel and bring the bearer of the Keyblade back to us."

"It will be my pleasure." Saix said, a dark grin crossing his face.

* * *

 **Authors note: Well, there you go, another chapter. I had some** **major writers block this week, but I could get this out. Sometimes, it's just hard to write after a full day of working. But it's better than just sitting on my ass watching TV instead.**

 **So, what did you think? This was another Dialogue heavy chapter, but it seems that you guys don't mind them that much. Which I'm glad. I enjoy writing fight scenes, but I enjoy character interaction better.**

 **As I said before, Organization 13 won't be mentioned for a little while now. After all, this is a DLWMG crossover first, so it's basically Roxas's daily life in this world for a while.**

 **Did you enjoy the chapter? Let me know by leaving a review. Thanks.**

 **Until then!**


	14. Chapter 14: Day 28

**Authors Note: Well guys, it's been a while since I updated this story. I was taking a break from writing fanfiction and started on a new after-work passion. You see, since I stopped writing fanfiction this last month, I was able to create half of the functionality of an indie survival horror game. It was a complete blast and I'm still working on it. This past month has really taught me that there is so much I could be doing with my time other that writing fanfiction. There is so much I can accomplish with the time I have after work. So I am sorry to say that updates will be much less frequent from now on…not that they were that frequent to begin with, but you get the picture.**

 **You know, I think I had an epiphany. I think the reason I'm having such a hard time writing the next chapter of this story is because of the amount of characters I have to manage. Trust me when I say an author can get a bit overwhelmed by the amount of people in their story that you need to give the spotlight to. For example, I have to manage Roxas, Yukiko, Pyra, Kii, Suu, Kimihito, Miia, Centorea, Papi, Rachnera, Mero, Smith, Axel, Xion, Zombina, Tionisha, Doppel, Manako, Ichiro, Callie, Kichi, and more. I must give them all different personalities, dialogue, character development, interactive balance, a role in the story, and so much more. So, you can see it becomes a bit of a headache to consider all that.**

 **Writing will always hold a place in my heart, and when I feel inspired to write more, I will sit down and pound away at my keyboard. But for now, there are a few other goals I want to accomplish, and I don't think I can do that while giving you guys consistent updates.**

 **I'm really sorry about that guys. I know there was a lot of people that really enjoyed this story and it sucks when you don't get updates to a story you enjoy. But what can I say, there are other things I enjoy doing as well.**

 **But that being said, I will leave you with this chapter instead of posting a single author note telling you this story is discontinued. So with that being said, please enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 14

Day 28

When people have a strict schedule and agenda, it's strange when you find yourself with nothing to do. You just kinda stare up at the celling in boredom, wondering what you should be doing with your time. That was the case for Axel as he lay on the bed that was provided for him. He had his hands behind his head, a blank stare in his eyes as he tried to wrap his mind around the current situation. Usually when he would wake up, he would head straight for the common area where Saix would dish out some new missions. He would try and joke around his old pal, but the berserker nobody wouldn't even crack a smile.

But now, he didn't have any missions to go on. He didn't have to get lectured by his former friend, nor have to deal with anyone from the organization. He didn't have anything to do. It was a very strange feeling to not be busy for the first time since he became a nobody.

Axel glanced out the window to his room, noticing that the sun was staring to rise over the horizon. He would have tried to sleep a bit more, but his mind was way to occupied for slumber. In all honestly, the revelation from Roxas really hit Axel hard. Sure, the nobodies were emotionless bastards, but he was still friends with Saix before they both became nobodies. He didn't think his ol' pal would do something like that…

Scrunching his eyebrows, Axel began to realize that he was dead wrong. Considering Siax's attitude and what he had become, Axel should have seen something like this coming a mile away.

But even so, why would Xemnas lie about Kingdom hearts? True, the leader of Organization 13 had been very vague about how his plan would help them, but if he wasn't going to use it to make them complete, then what was his objective?

The red-haired nobody grumbled as he rolled out of bed, standing on his feet. He cracked his neck and tried to push those thoughts away. They were too troublesome to worry about right now. As of this moment, he and Xion were in this new world and away from that place. For the meantime, it seemed they were going to say here in order to hide from Organization 13. After all, Xemnas made it really clear what would happen if anyone betrayed the Organization. No doubt they would start looking for them as soon as they found out.

But thinking back to his current situation, Axel couldn't help but feel a little amused. From what he understood, and from what Smith explained to him, he would be working for…this MON squad while Xion attended school with Roxas.

A tiny smile perked the corner of Axel's mouth as he thought about school. He remembered the old days when he used to attend with a few of his former friends. Those were good times, and he hoped Xion would have the same experiences.

Speaking of this world, Axel had to admit that he was pretty curious about it. He had only met a handful of people, but they seemed pretty interesting. A grin crossed his face again as he thought about what those two girls did to Roxas after he returned. They basically mauled the poor nobody, especially the dog-like one with black skin. She seemed especially ferocious.

Speaking of which, it mildly surprised Axel at first when he saw there…unique features, but it wasn't too surprising to be honest. Different worlds meant different kinds of people. He could only guess that they were the ones classified as Liminal. But for some reason or another, they really seemed to care about Roxas.

But that's where axel's grin vanished. His mind went back to when he saw Roxas's facial expressions and…actual tears. Despite being a nobody, even Axel could say for sure.

They weren't fake tears. Even though he currently lacks the ability to feel, Axel remembered what it was like to shed tears…when he was much younger. He was way to cool for that now…

At the time, Axel didn't think much about it because so much was going on, but now that he thought back and pondered, he had to wonder. If nobodies didn't have hearts, then how could Roxas make those expressions? How could he actually cry if he didn't have a heart? What happened in the few short weeks he had been gone?

Those were some of the questions that Axel really wanted answered. He wanted to know how Roxas was doing it? How was he…feeling anything?

Shaking his head, the red-haired nobody decided to get some fresh air. So quickly threw on his coat and walked out the door.

The halls were completely empty at this hour. Though he didn't know who he was expecting to see in this facility. After he and Xion returned, Smith set them up with a room. Surprisingly, Axel got the same room that Roxas stayed in when he first arrived at this world. She even told Axel that this room would be a bit more permanent for him since he would be a part of MON squad now…

Axel stopped walking down the hallway as he realized that he really didn't know anything about MON squad. Sure, Smith explained to him that it was a task force that specialized in Liminal criminals, but he still didn't know that much about Liminals in general. He met the two that ambushed Roxas, but apparently there were a lot of different kinds of Liminal on this world.

"This will be interesting." Axel muttered to himself as he continued walking down the hallway, exploring the inside of the facility a bit more.

A few moments later, Axel found himself in the community kitchen area of the facility. This was one of the places Smith had shown him besides his room and the bathrooms. Apparently, this was where most of the other members of MON squad would gather in the morning.

Having nothing better to do, Axel grabbed himself a glass of water before sitting down on one of the couches. He glanced at the television screen before picking up the remote and pressing the power button. They didn't have television back at HQ for obvious reasons, and he was a bit curious as to what this world would call entertainment.

At first, it was a bit weird. The network was flooded with strange game shows and musical pop bands that featured humanoid people with animal parts. It was kinda obvious to see that most were Liminal. He began flipping through the channels, trying to find anything that would be of interest.

As he was browsing, he heard the door open to the community kitchen, causing the fire Nobody to glance over his shoulder. Someone was indeed standing there, her multicolored eyes droopy as if she hadn't got enough sleep. She gave a loud yawn as she strolled into the room, briefly glancing over at Axel before she made her way to coffee maker.

Seeing this made Axel a bit curious. He was sure Smith didn't notify anyone else of his and Xion's arrival, and the woman that just walked in seemed extremely casual about walking into the same room with a stranger…especially dressed the way she was.

The person, who was now taking a large gulp of her caffeinated beverage, had bright red hair and a body that was covered in stiches. The stitches ran over her legs, abdomen, arms, and even her face. In fact, some portions of her skin seemed displaced…And the reason he could see all of that was because she wasn't wearing anything besides a pair of panties and a tight black tang top.

Had the nobody been able to feel anything, a blush may have covered his face. However, since that wasn't going to happen, he simply stared over at her in slight interest.

After downing her first cup of coffee, she quickly filled it back to the brim before turning to Axel. She walked over to the couch before flopping down next to him.

"Doppel…what da fuck are you doing up so early." The woman muttered as she took a large sip, not even waiting for it to cool off. "It's the weekend…we don't have any missions."

Axel raised an eyebrow at her. He was a little surprised to see her sit directly next to him like that. But now he was a bit curious as to who this Doppel person was supposed to be. Was there someone else that resembled him in this place?

"Your dumb TV shows woke me up. Did you forget I sleep right next to this room? Or were you playing another prank on me." She drawled as she let out a yawn, turning to the TV before setting her mug down on the stand next to the couch. "Anything good on this…morning?"

Axel couldn't' help but grin slightly, amused that she thought he was someone else. "…Not really, anything you want to watch?" Axel asked, humoring this stranger for the time being.

The red haired girl blinked her multicolored eyes a couple times as she glanced over at Axel. She stared at him for a long time before closing her eyes and letting out a sigh.

"Doppel, I'm not in the mood to be pranked right now. Besides, this whole gag is an old trick at this point." She said, leaning her head back against the couch. "But seriously, where do you get your transformation ideas? Haven't seen this one yet."

"Um…" Axel said, a bit confused while keeping the transformation thing in the back of his mind. "I think you have the wrong person. Name's Axel, got it memorized?" He asked, tapping his temple. "Who are you?"

The woman looked back over at him, her eyes narrowing a little. "Cut it out Doppel, it too early for this bullshit." She grumbled.

"Unfortunately, I would be impressed with myself if I cooked this up, Bina."

Both Axel and Zombina glanced over their shoulders to see someone standing there behind the sofa. She was a petite woman with dark brown skin and black eyes. She was completely naked besides her hair covering her more private areas. Her arms were crossed as she was staring at nobody with her eyes narrowed just a bit.

Zombina glanced between Doppel and Axel a couple times, her undead brain trying to comprehend the situation. "Hold on…your right there Doppel…" She said, causing the shapeshifter to nod. "But then… who the fuck are you!" She exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and away from the red-haired nobody.

Axel sighed, peeved he already had to repeat himself. "I Just told you. Name's Axel. Get it memorized already." He said, leaning back on the sofa and kicking one leg over the other.

"Yeah, I gathered that much, but what the fuck are you doing in our Kitchen?" Zombina growled.

"Your kitchen?"

"Yeah you idiot! This is area is exclusive for members of MON squad only!"

"Huh…good to know." Axel said as picked up the remote and flipped through a few more channels.

"Don't Fucking IGNORE Me!" Zombina growled, clenching her fists in anger.

"Hey, not that it's amusing to see you lose it, but don't you think you should be wearing someone more than just underwear?" Doppel asked a grin forming on her face.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Says the naked Loli." He said, not even looking back at the two.

For the first time, Zombina realized that she was standing there nearly naked in front of this man. Her teeth ground together in anger as she cocked her fist back.

"You Pervert!" She exclaimed, letting her fist sail. What she didn't expect was a gloved hand that easily caught her fist before it reached his face. The man was now looking over at her, his eyes a little narrowed.

Axel was mildly surprised by the power of that punch, though it was still nothing compared to what he faced in the organization. He gripped her hand, putting a bit of pressure on it. "Not bad, but you'll have to do better than that if you wanna tag me." He said, a taunting tone in his voice as he released her fist and stood from the couch.

Zombina growled again. "You've got 10 seconds to explain who you are and what you're doing here!"

"Or what?" Axel said, his grin increasing at how angry this red head was becoming.

Being at her wits end, the Zombina nearly rushed at Axel, her fist cocked back and ready to plant it in his face.

"Knock it off Bina. And Axel, stop provoking her. It's too early for this shit."

Zombina stopped in mid swing as she and Axel turned to the source of the new voice. Seeing that it was Smith standing there in the doorway with an exhausted expression on her face, Zombina decided to cool her jets a bit while pointing at Axel.

"Smith! You know this asshole?" Zombina asked, causing a tick mark to form on Axel's forehead.

"Who are you calling an Asshole, bitch."

"Red-haired Fucktard!"

"You have red hair too, whore."

"ENOUGH!" Smith yelled, holding her head in annoyance. She quickly moved over to the coffee pot before pouring herself a cup. "You Idiots woke me up! Now I'm tired and pissed. If you don't want a face full of boiling coffee, I suggest you Shut up!"

Grudgingly both Zombina and Axel quieted down, though they were still glaring at each other. You could almost see the electricity sparking between their eyes.

Seeing that it was now quiet, smith took the time to take a small sip out of her mug. The tension was thick though, and she couldn't really blame her team. She would've probably freaked out too if a stranger suddenly showed up in their common room.

"Smith…if you're done with your sip, might I suggest you explain who this is?" Doppel said, showing a bit of curiosity in her eyes.

Smith lowered her mug as she turned to the other members of her team. She cleared her throat. "This guy is Axel. Due to some last-minuet circumstances, he is now the newest member of MON."

"HUH?" Zombina exclaimed, pointing at Axel again. "This guy? Da' fuck smith? How come we ain't never heard about a new member joinin' mon?"

"Weren't you listening red?" Axel said sarcastically. "She said last minuet circumstances, meaning she didn't have time to explain it to ya. Duh,"

"I didn't ask you!" Zombina growled.

"He's right though Bina." Smith said. "It was a last night that he became a member of MON. I didn't have time to introduce him, so please stop the bickering."

Zombina growled again as she looked up at the smug grin on Axel's face. For some reason, she wanted to smack that look right off his face.

"Smith, while I know you're lazy and don't really take the time to plan things…"

"gee…Thanks."

"…You know there is a procedure when adding new members to our squad. Someone just can't randomly join."

Smith looked a bit depressed as her entire being deflated at the thought of how much paperwork she was going to be filling out today. "Don't remind me."

"So for you to make this decision without our consent…there must be a really good reason." Doppel said, her eyes narrowing a little.

"And there is, but it ain't none of your business." Axel said suddenly, causing all three women to glance over at him. He had his arms crossed and a look in his eye that clearly told them he wasn't going to say a word.

"What did you say? This is MON! Of course, it's our busnes-"

"Take it easy Zombina. He's right about this one." Smith said.

"What do you mean?" Doppel asked, cocking her head slightly.

"It's on a need to know basis. I'm sorry, I can't say more than that." Smith said, truly feeling horrible about doing this to her team.

Zombina and Doppel glanced at each other with uncertainty. It was rare that Smith ever withheld any information from them. Only in the most crucial of circumstances did she ever keep secrets. But they knew one thing for sure. If smith kept anything from them, then she had a damn good reason why.

"Alright fine, well drop it for now." Zombina said in annoyance.

Smith gave her a soft smile. "Thanks Bina...but don't you think you should but some cloths on? I didn't think you were so comfortable being around a stranger in only your panties."

Zombina casually raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk Smith."

"What do you mean…" Smith started before she looked down at herself. It was true. She was only wearing a pair of black panties and a white night shirt. She was so out of it before her coffee that she didn't even realize her state of dress before the caffeine kicked in.

Fortunately for her, she was confident in her body. "Well what do you know, pot meet kettle." She said as she glanced over at Axel.

Surprisingly…or maybe not that surprisingly, Axel didn't look affected in the slightest. He simply stood there with his arms crossed, a board and empty look in his eyes.

For a second, Smith really understood what Axel and Roxas were saying last night about the nobodies. They really didn't have the ability to feel anything. And to be honest, that was sad…and kind of scary.

* * *

Being in this situation was almost déjà vu for Roxas. He slowly opened his eyes to find that there was weight pressing down on him from both sides. It took a couple of seconds for his mind to fully register as to why he was having such a hard time moving.

Glancing down slightly, he saw the furry white arm of Yukiko still curled around his neck with her face in the same position as the night before. Based on the slight poking he felt on his chest and numbness of his right arm, Pyra had not moved either. Her head had completely cut off circulation throughout the night.

Groaning a bit, Roxas looked up at the celling, allowing the fog in his mind to subside. A lot had happened the past couple days. He overheard some vital information about Organization 13, he met Sora, brought Axel and Xion to this world, and returned to this world to a surprising welcome from everyone.

He licked his lower lip a bit, feeling the small cut from when Pyra punched him. He was surprised by her actions, not expecting a hit to the face and tears from the girl. In fact, he really didn't think any of them would worry about him.

But he was sorely mistaken when he found himself on the brunt end of some serious chastisement.

Glancing over at his nightstand, he noticed that it was almost 9:00. He had slept in much later than he usually would. But considering all that had happened, and the fact that he almost didn't get any sleep for 24 hours, it was understandable to sleep in.

But now, he found himself in the same position as last week with Pyra and Yukiko pinning him down. Idly, he wondered if Suu would be able to help him again.

"Suu?"

He waited for a few seconds, but he didn't hear a response. Taking a small glance at the door, he noticed it was a little ajar, meaning that she had probably slipped out a bit earlier to replenish her fluids.

"Great." Roxas whispered, resting the back of his head against the pillow again.

"Stop…moving around so much." The groggily voice of Yukiko murmured into his ears.

"…Are you awake yet?"

"No, now shut…up." Pyra growled sleepily, her claws digging a bit more painfully into his shirt.

"…Shouldn't we get up?"

"No." Pyra responded, her eyes opening a little more as she looked over in his direction. She grinned a little at his helpless expression.

"…Don't you think we've slept enough. I…still need to meet up with Kii." Roxas said, trying to find any excuse to get out of this situation.

"It's a little late for that. Besides, it's the weekend and that means sleeping in. So you aren't going anywhere until I'm nice and rested." She said defiantly, her grin spreading a little more at the annoyed twitch in his eyebrow.

Roxas noticed the tone in her voice. It sounded like she was challenging him. "Pyra, get off."

"Oh-ho" Pyra teased as she suddenly threw her leg over his waist, straddling his hips while resting her paw on the shoulder that wasn't occupied by Yukiko. "And are you going to make me?"

Accidentality, Pyra's actions caused Yukiko to shift a little. Her arm brushed against the side of Roxas's neck, which caused him to jolt a bit and scrunch his shoulders slightly. But even though the movement was minor at best, Pyra saw it.

Raising her eyebrow, Pyra reached down with her other paw and gently stroked the side of Roxas's neck.

Instantly, the boy jolted again, a tiny chuckle escaping his mouth. "Stop that!"

A Huge grin formed on Pyra's face as she stared down at Roxas like a predator about to attack.

"mmm…what's going on?" Yukiko murmered as she slowly opened her eyes. She untangled her arm from around Roxas's neck as she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes with her paws and giving a small yawn. However, when she was finished she noticed the compromising position Pyra and Roxas were in. "…What are you doing?"

"Oh, perfect timing Yukiko." Pyra said, grinning at the girl. "You see, Roxas here doesn't want to be our pillow anymore and I think he deserves a little punishment for all the stress he put us through, don't you?"

Hearing the extremely playful tone in her voice, Yukiko immediately caught on. She looked down at Roxas, who was gazing back up at her, clearly telling her to help. However, little did he know, he would receive none of it.

"Is that so?" Yukiko said, her own grin mimicking Pyra's. "Well, I completely agree with you. He should pay for making us worry like that."

''Yukiko!" Roxas exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes widening. Not in a million years did he think the innocent little Yeti would agree with the much more aggressive Hellhound.

"Oh Hush Roxas. You shouldn't make people worry without thinking of the consequences." Yukiko said, a teasing glint in her eye.

"Hey Yukiko, check this out." Pyra said as she drew her claw gently along the side of Roxas's neck. Instantly, the nobody scrunched his shoulders and shot a small glare at the hellhound. "Seems our friend is a bit ticklish."

"No way!" Yukiko said, a grin spreading across her lips. She too reached down and tickled the poor nobody, getting a similar reaction.

"Hey, cut it out!" Roxas said, a small chuckle escaping his lips again.

"Hold him down Yukiko!"

"Right!" Yukiko said as she forced Roxas's arm flush against his body and trapping it with her own. She reached around his chest and latched on, completely restricting one of his arms.

Roxas grunted, trying to move his arm, but it was completely trapped by the playful Yeti. Unfortunately, his other arm was still numb and tingly from lack of circulation throughout the night, so it was pretty much useless as well.

Pyra grinned as she lowered her body closer to his, pinning him back down to the bed. She brought her head next to his ear. "I told you a while ago Roxas…" She whispered sensually.

"…Told me what?" Roxas responded, struggling against Yukiko's impressively strong grip.

"I told you that I would have you at my mercy one of these days." She said as she blew sensually onto his neck.

Roxas's entire body went ridged as the cool breath made contact with his skin. His heart was beating wildly at this point, causing blood to rush to his face and turning it completely red. Every sensor in his body was going haywire, making the warmness of Pyra and Yukiko's body that much more evident the longer they held him in that position.

Fortunately, that increase heart rate forced an increased flow of blood to his numb arm. It suddenly came back to life.

Taking this opportunity, Roxas reached over and grabbed the back of Pyra's night shirt. The hellhound gave a surprised yelp as she was unexpecting tugged off his body. Having been thrown off balance, she toppled backwards off the bed, crashing to the floor on her back.

Roxas then reached over and placed his un-trapped hand on Yukiko, attempting to pry her off, but she was like duct tape. She grinned up at him slyly, clearly telling him she wasn't going to let go.

Seeing that this approach wasn't going to work, he suddenly sat up, throwing the Yeti a little off balance. He used this opportunity to free his other arm and wrap them both around the surprised Yukiko.

A small eep escape her mouth as she found herself fully embraced by Roxas. Her face went entirely red right before she felt herself about to be thrown off the bed. The Nobody would have been successful had Pyra not recovered by now.

"Oh! You're going to get it now!" the Hellhound said as she lunged at Roxas, wrapping both her arms around his stomach before heaving him, and consequently Yukiko, out of the bed. All three of them crashed onto the floor in a tangled mess.

"What are you two doing?" Roxas exclaimed as he sat up. He had been trying to escape this whole situation because he really didn't understand what was going on with his body. It scared him a little because his body was having such strong reactions to these two.

"Payback!" Yukiko exclaimed playfully as pounced on his back. "For making us worry about you."

"Yeah, You asshole! So stay still and accept your punishment." Pyra said as she climbed onto his lap, attempting to get back to his ticklish neck.

Again, Roxas didn't have a clue as to what was going on. He still didn't understand why his body was reacting the way it was, but seeing the playful looks on Pyra and Yukiko's faces, it probably wouldn't hurt to humor them for now, right?

"…Get Real!" Roxas grinned back, already struggling to free himself from their grasp.

* * *

Suu was happily humming as she walked back to Roxas's room. She was nice and hydrated at this point having absorbed as much water as she wanted. She just wished that Kimihito bought more flavored drinks. Water was filling, but bland after a while.

As she walked back to Roxas's room, she reflected on the past few days. Those couple days had been…a stressful experience for the slime. This was the first time she had truly felt sadness and worry. When she found out Roxas was missing, it really scared her. She was scared that she would never see him again.

But now, she couldn't help but smile. He was back and everything was back to normal now. It really warmed her heart sleeping next to him again with her feeler curled around his hand. What made things even better was the fact that Yukiko and Pyra also Joined in. She always liked those two.

 _CRASH! SMASH_

Suu cocked her head as she heard some loud noises from the bedroom.

"GAH! Yukiko! Hold him down!

"I'm trying!"

"Stop that! Don't tickle me!"

"Hold Still!"

"Ouch! Did you just bite me?!"

"Then don't grab my tail!"

Suu blinked a couple times as she heard the voices coming from the other side of the door. Slowly, she reached out and grasped the handle, turning it and pulling the door open. What the adorable slime saw on the floor in front of her caused her feeler to form a question mark.

Roxas was lying flat on his back, breathing hard while struggling against Pyra and Yukiko. Pyra was attempting to hold his left arm down with all of her weight. Both her paws were grasping his wrist while she was more or less sitting on his shoulder. Yukiko was much in the same position, only with his right arm. Both Liminal seemed like they were trying their hardest to restrain the nobody.

"PHH! Stop that Pyra!" Roxas exclaimed, a fit of chuckles escaping his mouth. The tip of Pyra's tail was actually tickling Roxas's neck while he was more or less helpless to stop her. He scrunched his shoulders though and tried to pin her tail with his chin.

"Not a chance! Now lay there like a good boy and accept your punishment." Pyra grinned as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Suu?" Suu murmured, cocking her head curiously and catching the attention of those in the room.

All three looked up at the slime before Pyra grinned at her.

"Suu, Hurry! Get his legs!"

"Yeah! Help us hold him down." Yukiko agreed.

Roxas was still struggled in an attempt to break his arms free while looking up at the Slime. "Suu! Help me out!"

"…"

Suu looked between Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra curiously. She didn't know who she was supposed to help because she was never put in a situation where she had to choose. But even though they were both asking for her help, Suu noticed something that completely took her attention away from them.

Roxas jolted his arm again, causing Pyra to exert more effort to keep him pinned. "Suu! Hurry up! I can't hold him much longer!"

"Suu! Get them off of me!" Roxas countered.

"Don't listen to him Suu!" Yukiko said.

"Suu~" Suu said, a very strange look on her face. It was a cross between a smile…and something else that Roxas couldn't really pinpoint.

"Suu?"

"Suuu~"

That's when Roxas realized what the slime was about to do. He panicked a little as he looked up at Pyra and Yukiko. "You gotta let me up!"

"What? No way!" Yukiko exclaimed, her playful grin returning.

"You don't understand! We are covered in sweat and if you don't get up now-"

It was too late.

Suu crouched down before she leaped high into the air, her form dissolving into a massive spread of goo. Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra could only look up in enviable horror before the blanket of slime splashed onto the three of them.

Instantly, all three sputtered in confusion, instantly jumping away from each other and trying to shake the slime out of their eyes and faces.

"What the Hell!" Pyra gasped, frantically trying to wipe the slime out of her eyes and fur.

"What's gotten into you Suu?" Yukiko exclaimed, trying to get the residual slime off her furry arms.

"…It's the sweat." Roxas said flatly as he noticed the sweat being absorbed by the slime.

"The sweat?" Pyra asked, a little grossed out.

"Yeah…" Roxas said, giving her and Yukiko a flat look. "I told you to get off."

"You didn't say this would happen!" Yukiko wined as she looked down at her pajamas. "and Big bro went through the trouble to buy me these."

"Eh, don't worry about it. It will wash right out." Roxas said as he stood up and hopelessly brushed some of the slime off his shirt. Already, the light blue gelatin was already starting to converge back together on the floor.

"How do you know?" Pyra asked.

"Suu did this to me a couple times after I trained with Kii in the morning."

"Geeze," Yukiko said, looking down at her now soaked pajamas. She glanced over at the converged slime that was now taking the form of Suu. The little Liminal was giving the most happy and innocent smile ever. "We need to be careful around you, don't we?"

"I second that." Pyra said, giving her paws one last shake before she glanced over at Roxas with a grin. "I think we win this round Roxas."

"Get real! I had you right where I wanted you." Roxas responded grinning back at them.

"With us on top of you? I didn't know you were such a pervert." Yukiko giggled slyly.

"A…Pervert?" Roxas asked, his grin replaced with a look of curiosity.

"Oh nothing." Pyra said as she stood up and shook her body off like a dog. "I think we need to take a quick bath. What do you think Yukiko." She said as she threw and arm around the Yeti.

"Yep!" Yukiko said as she uncomfortably tugged on the slimy pajamas. "I hope big bro won't mind doing another load of laundry."

* * *

With Yukiko and Pyra taking a bath in the downstairs bathroom, Roxas found himself relaxing in the large tub upstairs. With all the recent renovations done to the house, the baths were more like small pools at this point. But they kinda had to be huge if you were to fit someone like Centorea in them.

While sitting there in the tub, Roxas closed his eyes and allowed his body to fully submerge in the hot water. He had to admit, horsing around with Pyra and Yukiko was pretty fun. He didn't expect them to act quite like that, but it seemed they were just being playful this morning, especially Pyra. She usually gave off a calm and controlled demeaner.

Still, when they both started to mess with him, the way his heart raced when they were so close was still something he didn't understand. When his face felt like it was on fire when Pyra breathed into his ear, or when he felt Yukiko's large chest pressing against his side…those feelings were something that he still didn't know how to comprehend. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, just different.

"Well, aren't you just the little playboy. Wrestling around with two pretty girls so early in the morning."

Roxas suddenly felt two large, soft mounds pressing against the back of his head while a pair of sharp arms constricted around his neck. He felt a chin resting on the crown of his head as well. This was definitely not Pyra or Yukiko based on the hardness of her arms and the maturity in her voice. Plus, he really didn't like the fact that this person was able to sneak up on his so easily.

As fast as possible, Roxas pushed the person's arms away and leaped back, the Keyblade bursting into existence as he turned to face whoever caught him off guard.

"Rachnera." He growled as he took in the form of the spider-woman.

Rachnera blinked her six eyes a couple times as she glanced down at Roxas's exposed midsection. She scratched her chin a little, a grin crawling over her face. "Not bad for someone your age."

"…What are you talking about?" Roxas hissed back, still standing in the tub as far away from the Arachnera as possible. She was standing at the edge of the tub, a towel covering her more mature parts.

Hearing his question, Rachnera couldn't help but chuckle a little. "So, you really have amnesia. That, or you're really bold to stand there exposed in front of a lady."

"What do you want?" Roxas said, ignoring her comment.

"What's with the hostility. I only came here for a bath." Rachnera said as she slowly entered the tub before resting her body below the surface. "Ahhh, now that hits the spot. Honey really has the best house suited for me."

"…."

Roxas was still on guard, but he slowly lowed the Keyblade and allowed it to disappear.

"Why are you here?"

"Like I said, I wanted to bath."

"Then you should of waited until I was done." Roxas said back with annoyance.

"Awe, but I wanted to bond with my now house mate. After all, we will be living together." Rachnera said, resting her cheek in her open palm.

"…Bond in the bathroom?"

"What better place is there?" Rachnera said. "Oh, and call me Rachnee. Everyone else calls me that."

"…A nickname?" Roxas asked as he wearily sat down in the water, still keeping his distance from the Arachnera. "I thought friends give each other nicknames."

"Oh? But I thought we were best buddies Roxas. After all, we go way back." Rachnera said with a grin.

"…No we don't."

Rachnera giggled a little as she saw Roxas still staring at her with his eyes narrowed. He really didn't trust her, that's for sure. But then again, she really didn't give him any reason to trust her yet.

"I think we might have got off on the wrong foot."

"…Ya think?"

"Very funny." Rachnera giggled. "But as we'll be living together from now on, why don't we make an effort to get along?"

"…"

Roxas didn't know what to say. He couldn't really tell what she was thinking because she always had that condescending grin plastered on her face.

Rachnera was still smiling when she saw Roxas's skeptical look. She was really beginning to like this kid. He didn't make any attempt to conceal or hide his hostility towards her. That was way more than what she could say for some of her other housemates. He made it painfully clear that he didn't trust her one bit. But that was the kind of honesty she liked.

"Listen kid…"

"Roxas."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Roxas." Roxas said, not wanting a nickname from her.

"Right, Roxas. Listen, You remember I said that I kidnapped Honey to make a point, right?" She asked, getting Roxas to nod. "Arachneras like me, and many other Liminal are treated pretty badly by humans because of the way we look. Pretty much all my experiences with humans have been bad, so when I heard of a human who was treating Liminal's with kindness, I wanted to expose his true colors."

"True colors?"

"Yeah. Almost everyone in this world pretends to be something there not. That's what I hate most about humans, because they are the best at it. So hearing about honey, I wanted to prove that he was just like all the rest."

"Why?"

"…Why…." Rachnera mimicked. That simple question really boggled her mind, so much so that she didn't really have a straight forward answer. Why did she want to expose Kimihito? "I guess…I wanted to justify my feelings toward Humans. I thought if I could prove that he feared me, then it would prove that he was no different from everyone else."

Roxas shook his head. In a way, he could understand what she was saying. After all, members of the Organization pretended to have emotions every day. They didn't have hearts, but they acted as if they did by remembering who they were before they became nobodies.

"Do…you want everyone to hate Arachnera?" Roxas asked finally.

"Excuse me?"

"You were trying to prove that Kimihito was pretending to care for everyone here. That if he feared you, it would prove something." Roxas said, his eyes narrowing a little. "But will you really prove anything by kidnapping someone and trying to make them afraid of you? Wouldn't anyone be afraid if they got kidnapped by anyone, even a human?"

"…"

Rachnera was beginning to hate his straightforward questions that made her feel like a total Hypocrite. It was true that if it were anyone else but Honey, they would have started crying and weeping like a little bitch. And honestly, that would have probably convinced her that they were disgusted by Arachnera.

"If you do something like that, then can you really blame people for being scared of you?"

"…You talk too much kid." Rachnera grumbled in defeat.

"I'm just trying to understand." Roxas continued. "I don't really know or remember anything, so I won't pretend to know what you went through…"

"And I appreciate that." Rachnera said flatly.

"But looking at it through my eyes, I just don't understand why people hate others just because of a few experiences. In all honestly, Pyra was the same way when it comes to humans." Roxas said. "And to a point, she still is."

"…Yeah, I've noticed."

"Is it fair then? To hate all humans because a couple of them treated you badly? Would it be fair for me to hate all Arachnera because you kidnapped Kimihito?"

"…"

Rachnera was way too proud to admit that he had a point. After all, Honey had proved her dead wrong that all humans were lying bastards.

"Humph, I guess there is one benefit to amnesia." Rachnera said, causing Roxas to cocked his head at her. "Your eyes…are completely unbiased."

"…Thanks?"

"I'll admit that my tactics may not have been the best approach if you promise me one thing kid." Rachnera said, a softer smile crossing her face. It was a look that threw the nobody completely for a loop. "Don't…ever change that part of you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Yukiko and Pyra were in the downstairs bathroom, stripping down in preparation for the bath.

While Yukiko pulled off her slimy pajama top, Pyra couldn't help but stare a bit before glancing down at her own chest.

"…Geeze Yukiko, and I thought my breasts were big."

Yukiko blushing a bit in embarrassment as glanced down and cupped her large assists. "Y-You think so?"

"Yeah, do all Yeti have big boobs?" Pyra asked, removing her shorts.

"Well, most of them do…" Yukiko said before glancing back at the Hellhound. "But your hips are wider than mine."

"Well duh! Almost all Canine Liminal have wide hips because we have a tail." Pyra said, wagging her bushy black tail back and forth.

"I guess they do." Yukiko responded as she and Pyra entered the bathroom. "Still, you surprised me this morning Pyra."

"What do you mean?" The hellhound asked, as she began to wash herself off with soap.

"I didn't think you would wrestling around with Roxas like that. I mean, you like to tease him and all, but this was on a whole new level." Yukiko responded as she started washing her hair and fur.

"Well, what can I say? Most Canine Liminal my age play like that."

"You never have before."

"Because I wasn't comfortable enough yet." Pyra said, rinsing herself off before climbing into the tub.

"Well, I thought it was fun." Yukiko smiled as she also crawled into the tub.

Pyra grinned over at her. "You sure it wasn't just because you were sitting on Roxas? You looked like you were enjoying that way too much."

Yukiko's face flared up like a tomato. "S-S-S-Shut up! You were doing the same thing as me! I-I-In fact, you were the one who told me to do it!" She stuttered in embarrassment before she realized what the Hellhound was doing.

Pyra was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing. "Hook, Line, and sinker."

"PYRA!" Yukiko screeched as she launched herself at the Hellhound, tackling her into the water.

* * *

Xion didn't know what to feel as she walked up to the house with Axel. Only she, Axel, and Smith were walking over to Kimihito's house while the rest of MON stayed back at HQ. Apparently, Axel pissed off the leader of MON pretty badly. It didn't really surprise her because Axel knew how to get on someone's nerves.

Still, even though she had met Kimihito just the other night, she was still a bit nervous about staying in his house with a bunch of strangers. She was still new with interacting with others, Axel and Naminé being the only ones who she spent an extended period of time with.

Glancing over at Axel, she didn't want to be away from him because he was the only one that she really knew. Yet he was going to be a part of MON squad while she went to school with Roxas.

School, that was something the Puppet was really interested in. The way Roxas described it sounded like it was a cool place to attend. She had never been to a class in her life besides a few crash courses with Zexion to understand some of the basics. But other than that, this was going to be a new experience.

"Wow…how many government funds went into this house so far?" Axel said, getting a better view of the house now that it was daytime.

"Way too many." Smith sighed. "It caused me a mountain of paperwork already. But then again, Darling is taking care of eight Liminal now, plus a few of Roxas's friends."

"Right, Right." Axel said, glancing over at the coordinator. "Still, why didn't you find someone else to take care of a few."

"Because that would be inconvenient for me…" Smith said without thinking.

"…You know what, not even going to comment on that one." Axel said as he turned to Xion. "You ready for this?"

Slowly, the young Puppet looked up at Axel and nodded, though he could tell she was a bit nervous about the whole ordeal.

"Just relax Xion. This guy seems alright." He said, ruffling the young puppets hair.

"True that." Smith said as she approached the door, not even knocking before pushing it open. "DARLING! I'm home!" Smith hollered.

"WHAT!" Miia's voice streaked throughout the house. "WHO IS CALLING MY DARLING DARLING!?"

Axel and Xion were at a loss for words as the loud voice echoed through the house. The only ones they met so far was Kimihito, Roxas, and his two friends. They didn't know what to expect from the other housemates.

What's even more, they didn't expect to see a half woman, half snake girl slither her way onto the scene. She was glaring daggers at Smith with her hands on her hips. "No one calls Darling that but ME!" She Yelled

Smith wasn't the least bit intimidated. "It's always lively here. So what's for breakfast?"

"Smith? Is that you already?" Kimihito asked as he poked his head around the corner. He was wearing his usual cooking apron and had a pan of sizzling bacon in his hand. The man paused as he realized that the two he met last night were standing in the doorway. "Well, the crowd isn't as big as usual."

"Well, that's because there was a little tension this morning." Smith said.

"…Not even going to ask." Kimihito said as he disappeared back into the kitchen.

"That would be smart darling." Smith said, glancing at the fuming Lamia with a grin.

"Stop that SMITH!" Miia exclaimed.

"Awe c'mon! Cheer up Miia, it's a special occasion. Your new housemate is here."

"w-w-w-WHAT! Another one Already?" Miia cried. "Why is it always Darling! Why do I need more RIVALS!"

Xion felt her gaze dip a bit, already nervous around this…snake girl. She had never met someone so emotionally intense before. It was a little overwhelming to say the least. Plus, the young puppet really didn't want to cause trouble for everyone.

"Chill out Miia." Smith said as she thumbed over to the Puppet. "It's Xion over here. I don't think Darling will go for someone that young."

Miia's eyebrow twitched at Smith's use of HER nickname for Kimihito, but her attention was suddenly turned to the much younger girl who was standing a little behind Axel. She was shyly looking over at the half snake in awe.

"Her?" Miia asked, receiving a nod from the Coordinator. "Well…I guess it's ok then. As long as she isn't a rival, I don't mind."

"You have a one-track mind." Smith said as she massaged her temples.

Miia ignored the coordinator as she turned to the newest member of the Kurusu household. "My name is Miia. It's nice to meet you." She said with a much friendlier smile.

The Puppet was taken aback by the sudden shift in attitude. After such a verbal lashing the Lamia gave, she didn't expect her emotions to change on a dime.

"…My name is Xion…um…your tail is really cool." Xion said, not knowing what else to say.

Miia was a bit surprised by her response as she glanced over her shoulder at her long red tail. "You think so? Thanks! You're the first person to say that." Miia beamed.

"Hey! Are you all still standing out there? Come on inside!" Kimihito shouted from the kitchen.

Miia immediately latched onto the younger girl before dragging her further inside the house. "So! Where are you from? Why is Darling looking after you? You are human right?"

Xion felt a little uneasy being pulled away from her source of comfort. "I…know Roxas." She said quietly.

"Oh! You know Roxas?" Miia asked, a wide smile crossing her face. "How?"

"Oh, we go way back." Axel said suddenly, trying to save the poor puppet from answering that question.

Miia looked over at him with a curious gaze. "Who are you?"

Axel grinned a little at seeing the opportunity to use his favorite phrase. "Name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

Miia just stared at him for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Xion. "So you two know Roxas then? How? I thought he had amnesia? Did you know him before that?"

"Um…"

"Not really. We were part of the group that found Roxas." Axel said, walking into the large kitchen alongside.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh! Xion, you're already here."

Xion and Axel glanced over to see Roxas standing there in the entry way between the kitchen and the living room. They were a bit stunned to see him wearing something other than his organization 13 coat. With him dressed in casual cloths, it really threw them for a loop.

"H-Hey Roxas." Xion said quietly.

"Roxas, what's up!" Axel said much more boisterously.

"Not much. You're just in time for breakfast…." Roxas said as he glanced over at Smith. "Again."

"What's with that look!" Smith said. "I'm not just a mooch you know."

"Sure, you aren't." Said another voice from behind Roxas. Everyone turned to see the Hellhound and Yeti standing there as well.

A storm cloud formed over smith's head as she began to sulk. "No one appreciates me…"

* * *

 **Authors Note: Yeah, I know what you all are going to say. This was a very short chapter and I apologize for that. I was just having the hardest time trying to write this that I was thinking about not posting it at all. Like I said at the beginning, the problem I'm having is trying to manage to many characters at once. That is a very difficult thing as a writer because you must consider giving them all equal amount of dialogue and interaction without leaving any by the wayside.**

 **If I do continue writing this story, it will probably be short little chapters that will have some dabbles between Roxas and the rest of the cast (Mostly with Pyra and Yukiko though). But anyway, if you like this chapter, please leave a review and let me know. Those people who took the time to comment where the reason this story lasted as long as it did.**

 **Until then!**


	15. Chapter 15 : Day 29-30

**Authors note: Well, I didn't officially say I was going to abandon this fanfiction, just that the updates would take a little longer than usual. For starters, I would just like to apologize to those who thought the last chapter was lacking. Like I said before, I was having a really hard time trying to figure out what content I was going to include in the chapter, and it ended up taking me a long time. So the quality was lacking a bit because of that. Anyhow, for those who enjoyed the chapter, I am glad you did.**

 **But that being said, a lot of the chapters coming up are just shorts that will resemble slice of life. You know, trips to the beach/pool, school field trips, school festivals/other festivals, holidays, ext. There will be a couple arcs in between, but that was the main idea for this story when I first started. So, if some of you don't like that style of storytelling, then that's a bit unfortunate because daily life was going to be the focus of this fanfiction anyway. Which is why I'm a little surprised that a lot of you felt that last chapter was empty, disappointing, and low quality.**

 **But on another note, thank you all so much for making this one of the most reviewed DLWAMG crossover fanfiction on the site…Granted that the top two dropped off the platform, but hey, technicalities am I right?**

 **Anyhow, enough chatter. Please enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Blank slate

Chapter 15

Days 29-30

When Xion arrived at the house, Kimihito once again decided it would be best to take an excursion into town to not only show her around, but also fill her new room with some casual cloths. After all, walking around in a black-hooded trench coat wouldn't be the best choice in fashion. Axel decided to tag along as well since there weren't any missions from Mrs. Smith yet. He also wanted to explore a little and find some of the city's hot spots…A.K.A. the nearest Ice cream shop.

While walking around the mall, Roxas couldn't help but reminisce in the time when he was in Xion's shoes, looking around the massive building in awe at all the stores, shops, and people. The puppet's eyes were wide, gazing around with innocent wonder while her mouth slightly ajar at the unfamiliar sights and atmosphere. It was obvious to see that she had never been around so many people and so many stores.

They spent most of the day shopping, Pyra and Yukiko being the biggest help in picking out some cloths for the oblivious puppet.

Speaking of the two Liminal girls, they were a little skeptical of Xion at first, but they warmed up to her quickly. Seeing that she was extremely polite, innocent, and shy might have earned her some early brownie points with them, especially Pyra. While the Hellhound was still a bit on edge because of Xion's human resemblance, Yukiko was already dragging the poor Puppet from store to store with incredible vigor. The excited Yeti was nearly throwing different styles of clothing into Xion's arms and shoving her into the changing room to try them on, almost like they were at a fashion show.

Xion on the other hand was completely overwhelmed by everything that was happening. She never expected to be shopping for an entire new wardrobe, nor did she expect to find herself surrounded by people who displayed emotions on such an intense level. Her only interactions with others was limited to Organization 13, so it was strange to be around people who…Smiled so much, especially the Yeti that was currently dragging her around like a rag doll. ( **Imagine how Tio was dragging Kimihito around on their date)**

Axel was a bit more accustomed to this though. Luckily, he had memories to rely on in these kinds of situations. Though that didn't mean he wasn't a little off-put by the emotional intensity of nearly everyone in Kimihito's house. Seriously, how did this man manage to say sane while taking care of all these hyperactive Liminal

Glancing over at Xion's host, he watched as the Lamia bickered with the Centaur over who would go on a date with him next. Kimihito was desperately trying to calm the situation while looking completely embarrassed by the amount of attention they were attracting. It didn't help that the mermaid Meroune was going off on some tragedy tangent about how Kimihito was ignoring her in favor of the other two.

A smirk crossed his lips when he saw Papi dive bomb the Human in an energetic display of affection, causing Miia and Centorea to turn their wrath on her. It just turned into a massive mess of verbal lashings and confrontation. If this human was able to deal with something like this on a daily basis, then it was ok to trust Xion's care to him. After all, only a man made of steel could handle this kind of mess.

Axel turned back to watching Yukiko energetically drag Xion to another store to try one some more outfits. He couldn't help but chuckle as Roxas and Pyra ran after them, calling out to the Yeti and telling her to slow down, though they were ignored by Yukiko's blind excitement. His smile increased a bit more when he saw the pleading look that Xion shot at him, clearly telling him to rescue her as she flew into another store.

"This place is interesting." Axel murmured. He hadn't felt this way since the time he heard about Sora coming to castle oblivion. Even though Axel was a nobody, there were times he swore that he felt something other than emptiness, more recently when he started spending more time with Xion and Naminé. But that was supposed to be impossible, right? He was a nobody, and nobodies weren't supposed to fee anything.

"Oh-Oh! This one next! This one's super cute!" Yukiko exclaimed as she pulled out another outfit, this one being a navy-blue skirt and a white blouse.

"S-Slow down Yukiko!" Pyra gasped. "How many outfits are you going to force her to wear in one day."

Yukiko turned around to Roxas and Pyra, noticing that they both looked exhausted and out of breath. She reached over and scratched the back of her head, sticking out her tongue. "Sorry about that, I'm just so excited. I haven't been to the mall in forever."

While the Yeti was distracted by Pyra, Xion snuck over to Roxas. "…I-Is she always like this?" She whispered to him.

"More or less." He whispered back. "You kinda get used to it though."

"…Really?" Xion asked, glancing over at the Yeti, who was making ecstatic conversation with Pyra.

"Yeah, Trust me. I was a lot like you when I first came here." Roxas said with a small smile.

"You were?"

"I was, but instead of Yukiko dragging me around, it was Miia." Roxas responded. "I actually met Yukiko here in the mall."

"You did?" Xion asked, looking a bit interested.

"She was here with her host, but kids at our school were picking on her. So I decided to help her out." Roxas said, a small chuckle escaped his mouth as he watched Yukiko pull out another outfit and insist on Pyra wearing it.

"You helped her? Why?" Xion asked.

Roxas looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Xion shuffled nervously. "Nobodies don't feel anything, so why did you chose to help her? I mean, you shouldn't have cared, right?"

The nobody thought about Xion's question for a few moments, trying to find a clear answer, but for the life of him he could think of one. Now it was just second nature to look after her and Pyra.

"I really don't know. At the time, I think I just felt like I should have helped her, so I did."

"You…Felt like you should have helped her? But isn't that impossible for a nobody?" Xion asked, her eyes widening a bit more.

"…I'm really beginning to wonder if that's true or not. When I got here, I didn't really feel anything, but something changed."

"What changed? Can you explain it to me?" Xion asked curiously.

That little question caused Roxas to pause and think a bit more. When he first arrived in this world, he was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of emotion displayed by everyone in the house. But now he had grown accustomed to it somehow, even to the point where he found himself enjoying it.

"…I don't know, but I think that change is something you just have to experience on your own." Roxas finally responded.

"Xion! Over here! How does this one look?" Yukiko asked, pulling out another outfit and pressing it against her own body. "Cute, Right?"

"Um…" Xion started, not knowing what to say. "I guess so."

"Muu! You're just like how Roxas was when we went shopping a few weeks back." Yukiko complained as she hung the outfit back on the rack. "You don't have Amnesia too, right?"

Even though Yukiko asked in a joking manner, there was a probing undertone in her voice that was truly curious.

Xion slowly shook her head. "No…I just…The only thing I've known was Organization 13."

"You mean the Organization that Roxas is from?" Pyra asked curiously.

"Yeah," Xion nodded alongside Roxas. "I…I've never really been shopping before."

"…"

There was a long pause as Yukiko's eyes slowly widened until they were the size of dinner plates. "W-WHAT! NEVER!?"

Both Xion and Roxas jumped a little at the sudden intensity of her voice, but Xion shook her head.

"No cloths shopping?"

"…These are my only cloths." Xion said, tugging at the organization 13 coat.

"No makeup?"

"What's that?" Xion asked curiously, her head tilted in a cute manner.

Yukiko was on the verge of exploding. "Manga? Food? Entertainment? ANYTHING?"

"…Axel and I get Sea-Salt Ice-cream sometimes…Does that count?"

The Yeti erupted with the force of an active volcano, launching herself at the unsuspecting girl and wrapping her in an enormous bearhug.

"You poor thing! Don't worry, now that you're here, we will catch you up on everything you missed out on." The Yeti said through comedic tears as she turned to Pyra. "Right?"

"Leave me out of this." Pyra said, an amused smile crossing her lips as she watched Xion freeze awkwardly in the embrace of the Yeti. "But it is strange. What kind of Organization were you and Roxas apart of? Surly you went home after work, right?"

"…Not really." Roxas and Xion answered Simultaneously.

"Any days off?"

"No." Roxas responded, but to be fair, he only worked for Organization 13 for nine days.

"Not for me either." Xion said, trying to squirm her way out of the Yeti's vice grip.

"Y-You both…" Yukiko said, an arm around Roxas's neck while still holding onto Xion. "There is so much you two need to experience."

"…You can say that again." Roxas responded quietly, a small smile on his face.

* * *

It was the next day that Roxas found himself sitting at his usual desk, waiting for classes to begin. After they went shopping for Xion, Smith showed up at the house with a ton of paperwork that the young Puppet needed to fill out so she could attend school. Roxas had to chuckle as he remembered doing the same exact thing when he registered for classes.

Truth be told, he felt a little sorry for the quiet girl. She seemed pretty overwhelmed by the drastic change in her life. From meeting everyone in the house, to registering for school, and then even watching Axel leave with Mrs. smith after everything was taken care of. Luckily, with Kimihito's kind personality and everyone's acceptance, she was about to get through it.

"Alright class, we have a new transfer student today." Mrs. Kitsuna said with a big smile. The class buzzed with interest as their attention was drawn toward the new person who was standing in front of the classroom. As predicted, the young puppet was there, looking extremely nervous by everyone's staring eyes.

"Well, are you going to introduce yourself?" Mrs. Kitsuna asked nicely.

"O-Oh, right." Xion whispered, shuffling a bit as she looked up at her fellow students. "My name is X-Xion. It's nice to meet everyone." She said, barely above a whisper.

Roxas had a small smile on his face as the class continued to buzz with interest. He knew she would be in his class. After all, with all the changes in her life, it would help if she was at least in the same class as someone she knew.

"Oh-Oh Xion! Come sit next to us!" Yukiko called, pointing to the chair right next to her.

Suddenly, all eyeballs were glancing back and forth between Xion and the Yeti. More whispers started to flow through the classroom, most of them wondering how the new girl knew Yukiko.

Seeing some familiar faces, Xion felt a heavy load lift off her shoulders. She ignored most of the looks thrown at her as she made her way to the empty desk. Yukiko and Roxas gave her a welcoming smile while Pyra just nodded before turning her attention back out the window.

Roxas just sighed at the Hellhounds usual antics. Pyra was not one to easily trust, even though they spent the better part of yesterday hanging out with one another.

Yukiko on the other hand had taken quite well to the new addition of the household. The energetic Yeti was already trying to make conversation with the shy puppet before she was reprimanded by Mrs. Kitsuna.

* * *

Finally, the lectures concluded with the sound of the bell, signifying the end of classes for the day. Roxas yawned a bit as he stood from his seat and stretched his arms toward the celling. Classes were interesting as usual thanks to the talented teaching style of Mrs. Kitsuna. He had to hand it to the Foxy teacher, she knew how the make a lesson worth listening too.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Yukiko was already chatting it up with Xion, blasting her with a million questions at once.

"So, how did you like your first day of school?"

"It was…"

"Do you want to check out our club?"

"…That would be…."

"Oh, you should totally join the Photography club with us! It would be so fun."

"…"

"Yukiko! Give the girl some air." Pyra said, receiving a grateful nod from the puppet.

Yukiko stuck out her tongue and scratched the back of her head again. "Sorry about that, I'm just so excited about a new friend, and one that knows Roxas. It's like she's already part of the group."

"The group of losers that is." A snide comment sounded through the classroom.

The entire countenance of Roxas, Pyra, and Yukiko changed to one of annoyance as they turned to the Bully of the class and her groupies

"Kichi…" Roxas said, not even trying to hide the annoyance in his voice anymore.

"…Who?" Xion asked.

"The Prissiest Bitch in the entire school. Xion, meet Kichi." Pray said dryly, gesturing at the girl.

"Shut it mutt." Kichi snapped. "I swear, your little colony just keep multiplying. First that wimpy loser Ichiro invites you three to his Club, and not only that he got another hairy Liminal to join as well."

Roxas looked up at her curiously. "Another one?"

"Yep. That disgusting cow Callie. I swear, how can you be around that hooved freak without getting sick." She asked, eliciting a laugh from her followers.

"…I'm a Holstaurus" A meek little voice said from behind Kichi and her group. Roxas, Pyra, Yukiko, and Xion all glanced over to see two of their classmates standing there. One was the president of the Photography club, Ichiro. But the other was someone they had yet to talk to. She was a Holstaurus with the horns, cow ears, furry legs, and hooved feet…and her enormous chest to boot.

They also noticed that the shy girl was standing slightly behind Ichiro, as if he were her protection against the group of bullies. Though Ichiro didn't look much better himself, standing there nearly shaking in his boots.

Kichi whirled around. "Same difference. You have the legs and boobs of a cow." She said before pointing to Ichiro. "And why are you surrounding yourself with all these freaks?"

All attention was now on the Orange haired boy, seeing how he would react, especially Pyra. She was pretty interested as to what he would do.

Surprisingly, he reached back and gently grasped Callie's wrist before storming his way through Kichi and her group, looking down but not saying a word to her. However, you could see he was still a bit nervous.

Once standing in front of Roxas, Pyra, Yukiko, and Xion, he gave a soft smile before pointing to the blushing Callie. "Hey, I got our fifth member. We can o-officially start our club now." He said happily.

"Um…Nice to meet everyone." Callie said, shuffling her hooves nervously.

Everyone stared at the young Holstaurus for a bit before Pyra finally opened her mouth. "Are those real?" she asked casually, pointing a claw at Callie's chest.

The Holstaurus's face flushed bright red as she crossed her arms over her breasts, even though it did little to hide her assets. She wasn't the only embarrassed one though, because Ichiro's face also lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Pyra!" Yukiko exclaimed. "That's so rude!"

"What? I was just asking what everyone's thinking." She defended before glancing at Ichiro. "And you, why do you look so embarrassed?"

"Um…That's…" Ichiro sputtered uncomfortably as he and Callie looked away from each other in embarrassment. Unfortunately, this only caused Pyra to grin, a whole arsenal of teasing ammunition now at her disposal.

"Stop ignoring me!" Kichi screeched

"Oh, you were still here?" Pyra asked

"Smartass!" Kichi snapped before crossing her arms. "Anyway, the only reason why I approached you losers was because you were pestering the new girl."

"…Me?" Xion asked, pointing to herself.

"Yes you, why are you hanging out with these…things?"

"Things?"

"Just ignore her." Roxas said. "She says stuff like this all the time."

Kichi looked between Roxas and Xion a few times. "Do you two know each other."

"…Yes." Roxas and Xion said at the same time.

"Great! They are spreading like a disease." Kichi glowered as she turned her attention to Xion. "But I'm gonna give you the same chance as I gave Roxas."

"…What chance?"

"Why don't you dump these losers and hang out with us? I promise you won't regret it." Kichi said with a grin.

Xion just stared at her blankly, not quite understanding what was going on. "What do you mean?"

Kichi blinked a few times. "What I mean is, be friends with us, not them."

"…Why can't we all be friends?" Xion asked with innocent curiosity.

The question threw the entire group for a loop, almost as if none of them even considered the idea.

"What are you saying? Why would I be friends with those Bitches?" Pyra asked, pointing her claw at Kichi and her group.

"And why would I be friends with a bunch of animals and their bestiality human friends?" Kichi bit back.

Again, Xion glanced between the two, about to open her mouth again, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She glanced up to see Roxas standing there. "Let it rest. I was also confused by this when I started school, but some people just can't be reasoned with."

"You're the one who can't be reasoned with Roxas." Kichi growled. "You just can't see that I was trying to help you."

"By hurting my friends?" Roxas asked, glaring at the girl. "I like hanging out with them. I like being around them and we have fun together. So how were you trying to help me?"

"Roxas…" Yukiko smiled softly.

"Awe shucks, your making me blush." Pyra said facetiously, though you could tell she appreciated it.

"Tsk…Fine, don't say I didn't try Xion." Kichi said, throwing one last glare at the group before storming off with her groupies.

* * *

"That was great!" Ichiro said as he and the rest of the Photography club made their way to the clubroom.

"What was?" Roxas asked.

"The way all of you stood up to them. I only wish I have to courage to say stuff like that."

"…You do." Callie said, walking beside the orange haired boy. "You helped me when I was being bullied, and even invited me to your club."

"…Thanks." Ichiro blushed, scratching the back of his head.

"Speaking of which," Pyra said, turning to the president and Callie. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. Name's Pyra."

"Oh, I'm Callie. Nice to meet you." She said with much more confidence.

"I'm Yukiko! Sorry if Pyra says some embarrassing stuff. She doesn't have a filter." Yukiko smiled.

"I do have a filter, thank you very much. You would be appalled if I said everything that's on my mind."

"Noted." Roxas said as he turned to the Holstaurus. "I'm Roxas, and this is Xion."

"Nice to meet everyone." Xion said quietly.

"It was your first day today, no?" Ichiro asked the puppet. "Are you interested in the Photography club?"

"Photography?" Xion asked.

"Yeah…" Ichiro started, preparing his usual speech with great enthusiasm. "We take pictures and have the opportunity work with other clubs. Mostly the newspaper club because they need pictures for their stories."

"Speaking of which, who is in the newspaper club?" Pyra asked.

"Oh, I met them a few days ago when I first started the photography club. I think the president of the newspaper club is named Gin or something. He…Kinda gives me the creeps." Ichiro said.

"Gin…Where have I heard that name?" Yukiko asked herself.

"True, it does sound familiar for some reason." Pyra agreed, scratching her chin.

"He…Kinda has a bad reputation." Callie chimed in. "He is notorious for being a massive pervert."

"Oh Yeah! I remember reading something like in one of the old school newspapers. Apparently, he tried to frame one of his club members for peeking in the girl's locker rooms." Yukiko said, a disturbed look on her face.

"…and we have to work with this guy?" Pyra asked.

Ichiro scratched the back of his head. "Unfortunately, but the rest of the club seems pretty cool. In fact, most of them are Liminal."

"Really?" Pyra asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty interesting to see them fight over that one boy…what was his name…Tsuku-Tsukune?" Ichiro said, trying to remember the eventful scene.

"Huh…So it was your cliched Harem protagonist situation?" Pyra asked.

"More or less." Ichiro agreed as he turned back to Xion. "So, what do you say? Would you like to Join the Photography club?"

Xion still looked a bit shy as she glanced around the group. "um…Will I be able to be with everyone?"

"Of course! Everyone here is part of the club."

"Then…" Xion started, a radiating smile crossing her features. "I would like that please."

"Alright! Another member of the club!" Ichiro cheered. "I can't believe we've grown so much in such a short amount of time."

"All thanks to you president." Callie smiled before her face courted in discomfort. "Um…"

Ichiro noticed the strained look on her face. "What's up Callie?"

"Uh…" She muttered as she quickly grabbed his wrist and turned to everyone else, a blush dotting her cheeks. "I-I need to borrow Ichiro for a f-few seconds. C-can we meet you at the clubroom?"

"Um…Sure?" Roxas said.

"What's wrong?" Yukiko asked, looking a little concerned.

"I-it's nothing serious…I just…It's been a few days since…my last…" She trailed off, glancing over at Ichiro with a pleading looking, hoping that he would be able to read the situation.

Fortunately, Ichiro was able to deduce what the Holstaurus needed based on the dark shade of red his face turned. He pulled Callie a little closer and whispered. "C-Can't one of the girls do it?"

"No! That would be so awkward asking them. And you were so gentle and your hands were so warm. It felt great afterword's! A-And…I-I trust you, Please." She whispered back, her face turning just as red as Ichiro's.

Roxas, Yukiko, Xion, and Pyra wastched as they whispered back and forth like a couple of elementary school girls. However, Pyra's grin was stretching over her entire face like a jack-o-lantern. Finally, Ichiro and Callie turned back to them, both blushing heavily.

"I will m-meet you at the c-c-club roo-room. C-callie and I-I…need to do s-something." Ichiro said, barely able to form the complete sentences.

"Oh, don't mind us. Please take your time." Pyra grinned like the Cheshire cat and causing everyone to look over at her in confusion. "Milk it for all it's worth, if you know what I mean."

Most everyone was confused by this statement, but Callie and Ichiro clearly understood the innuendo. Steam as basically rolling off their faces before Callie grasped Ichiro's arm and dragged him away, shooting off into the distance like a bullet train.

"…What was that all about?" Roxas asked.

"Oh, nothing." Pyra said happily. "Let's just say these ears of mine are pretty useful when they need to be."

By the time Ichiro and Callie returned, Roxas, Yukiko, and Pyra had shown Xion around the clubroom. It was rather comedic watching the two walk back into the room.

Callie looked like she was in a state of pure bliss, hugging Ichiro's arm into her bosom…which seemed to be a little smaller since the last time they saw it.

Ichiro's face was completely red and his eyes were glanced over. He looked like he was dead on his feet and sounded like a zombie as he explained more of their responsibilities as members of the photography club.

Even Mrs. Kitsuna swung by to see how they were doing, saying that she had a good discussion with the teacher representative for the newspaper club, Mrs. Nekonome. Curiously enough, Nekonome was the second Liminal hired as a teacher behind Mrs. Kitsuna. Hearing this information seemed to make Pyra even more interested in collaborations between the two clubs.

Xion was still feeling quite overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Already, she had made more friends in the past few days than she thought possible, especially for nobodies…well…she was a puppet, but it was almost the same thing. But what surprised her even more was the actions of Roxas. He was …showing emotion. He would smile when Pyra or Yukiko would crack a joke, he would get annoyed when Kichi harassed them, and so much more. But after being a part of the organization, it was pounded in their heads that Nobodies were not capable of such thing. But here Roxas was, proving them wrong.

It was interesting.

However, alas the day was over along with the club meetings. Currently, Xion was walking beside Yukiko and Pyra while they made their way back to Kimihito's house. Apparently, they would hang out after school and do homework together, which would be very beneficial to Xion because she had a mounting of work she needed to catch up on.

The walk back was filled with idle chatter, mostly between Pyra and Yukiko, but she could get her two-sense in every so often. But because her life was even shorter than Roxas's, she didn't have much to say regarding anything, something that the two Liminal were able to pick up on.

While they were walking, Pyra phone started to ring in her pocket. She fished it out and glanced at the Caller ID.

"Hold that thought, I gotta take this." She said, putting the phone to her ear. "Hello? Auntie?"

"…"

"Are you serious? You're already open for business?"

"…"

"And how many businesses does this make now?"

"…"

"Yeah Yeah, I get it It's a challenge. So, what's up?"

"…"

"You already have customers? Seriously?"

"…"

"Wait a second…why does he sound familiar…you said a Centaur as well? Blond hair?"

"…"

Pyra was now giving the phone a flat look. "The Human's name wouldn't happen to be Kimihito would it?"

That caught everyone else's attention as they all stopped walking and stared at the Hellhound.

"You need help huh? Finally realized you can't run all those businesses on your own?"

"…"

"Yes, I need to rub it in."

"…"

"Alright, I'm on my way. You're just lucky I don't have to ask the fat-ass to take me."

"…"

"I get it, I'll see you soon." She finished as she put her phone back in her pocket and glanced up at the curious looks of her friends.

"That…was my Auntie." She said, looking a little bashful.

"You aunt?" Yukiko asked. "You never said that your family was close by?"

"You never asked."

"And to think there's another Hellhound in this city. This is so cool!" Yukiko exclaimed.

Pyra bit her lower lip slightly as an uneasy look flashed across her face. "Um…She's not a Hellhound."

Roxas and Yukiko raised their eyebrows. "She's not?"

"Nope. I'll Explain on the way, but for now, she needs a paw." Pyra said, starting to walk again. "Oh, and apparently Kimihito and a few of your housemates are at her facility."

"Really?" Roxas asked.

"Yep."

"What facility is it?" Yukiko asked.

"That would be…Sports Club Kobold."

* * *

Pyra lead everyone in a different direction from Kimihito's house. Thankfully, they didn't need to take another train, but when they arrived, Roxas, Yukiko, and Xion couldn't help but marvel at the massive Sports club building in front of them.

"…Holy crap Pyra!" Yukiko exclaimed.

"You can say that again. I can't believe she managed to open the doors to this place." Pyra agreed.

"But Pyra, you still haven't explained who you aunt is. What is she if she isn't a hellhound?" Yukiko asked as they approached the massive building.

"Well…My aunt is a Kobold."

"Oh ok, so is she a close family friend?"

Pyra shifted uncomfortably. "No…she is my real relative."

"Huh? How?"

"…It's a long story." Pyra said, her countenance dropping even more.

Seeing this was unusual for everyone. They have seen Pyra angry, happy, confident, testing, and so much more, but this was a side of her that she never shown.

"You ok?" Roxas asked, walking up the her.

Realizing that her emotions were on full display, Pyra scoffed before plastering her usual smile on her face. "Just peachy. Why, you worried about me or something?"

"…yes."

Pyra chuckled a little as they group reached the doors to the facility. "Always saying what's on your mind huh? But Yes, Polt is my blood relative. I never said I was a pure Hellhound. My mother was Plot's sister."

"Wow! I didn't know that! You look exactly like a hellhound though." Yukiko commented as they walked through the lobbies of the sports facility.

"I get that from my dad. He's a pure-blooded hellhound. Apparently, my Kobold blood is the only thing that allowed me out of hell." Pyra said, her demeaner changing a bit.

"Hell? What do you mean by that?" Xion asked, while the other two nodded in agreement.

"Haven't you noticed that most people act surprised when they see me? Or have you noticed that you've never seen another hellhound in the program?"

The three paused for a moment…well, mostly Yukiko and Roxas. However, they nodded and allowed her to continue.

"Well, that's because Hellhounds are not allowed in the program because they are just too dangerous and violent. In fact, the only time they are let out of Hell is to capture an escaped soul. That's how my father met my mother and had…kinda a one night stand."

"…I never knew that." Yukiko whispered.

"Yep. But for me, the Kobold blood diluted my aggressive Hellhound side just enough for me to be accepted into the program. And hence, here I am." Pyra said as they reached the elevator. She raised her paw to press the down arrow.

"Wow." Roxas said. "But where is your mother then?"

Pyra froze, her paw right in front of the Butten. She turned to them, a somber look in her eyes. "I'm only telling you guys this because I trust you…" she said before pausing and turning to Xion. "And since it looks like you are sticking around for a long time, you might as well know."

"Know what?" Xion asked.

"My mother…She…She's not here anymore. According to Polt, she passed away giving birth to me." Pyra finished as she turned back around and pressed the down-arrow button.

Everyone was silent as the atmosphere turned very depressing. The elevator humming in the background was the only sound because no one wanted to break the silence. Finally, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, but no one made a move to enter.

"Pyra…I'm so sorry." Yukiko said, unshed tears forming in her eyes.

Pyra turned to them, a sad smile on her face. "What do you have to be sorry about. I'm the one that killed my mother." She said, causing Yukiko to real in shock.

Even hearing those words, Roxas felt his heart begin to swell with sadness. The tone in Pyra's voice was…so unlike her. Even though he personally didn't have parents, in his dreams about Sora, he knew what a Mother and Father were and what they did for their children.

Heck, even walking down the street on his way to school, he would notice parents lovingly saying goodbye to their children as they went to school as well. He watched them exchange affection between one another, so it gave him a decent idea of the relationship between parent and child.

But hearing the words that were coming out of Pyra's mouth, it just sounded so depressing.

"That's not true Pyra!" Yukiko exclaimed. "What happened wasn't you fault!"

"Here's the thing…" Pyra said as they all walked into the elevator. "Do you know why there are strict laws for Liminal and Human relationships?"

"W-What?" Yukiko asked, clearly confused by the sudden change in topic.

"Human males have the ability to bread with Liminals all they want. That's how all female species like Lamia and Harpies survive. Coincidentally, all the children born are Liminals. And in some cases, certain male Liminals are allowed to breed with human females. But can you imagine what would happen if…say, a Male Centaur impregnated a female Human?"

"…"

"I can see the gears working, but I will explain it to you. Do you think the human female body would be able to withstand the strain of giving birth to a centaur?"

Yukiko bit her lower lip before shaking her head, not liking where this conversation was going.

"Exactly. Not only would the woman die throughout the pregnancy, but the baby would probably die too. It's the same with Hellhounds. The only Species that can withstand the strain of giving birth to a hellhound are other hellhounds. But apparently, my mother still wanted to try, thinking that her body was similar enough to a hellhound that she would be able to do it."

"Pyra…" Yukiko whimpered, tears again forming in her eyes.

"So, she decided to keep me instead of an abortion. And…because of that, she died. So how can you say it wasn't my fault." Pyra said bitterly. "If I wasn't born, then she would still be alive."

"But…But…" Yukiko fumbled before turning to Roxas and Xion. "Guys, help me out here."

Roxas furrowed his brow, but he didn't really have much of an idea of what they were talking about. But from what he could understand, Pyra was blaming herself for the death of her mother for some reason.

"Don't waste your breath Yukiko." Pyra said, looking over her shoulder and grinning at them. "Those two probably don't have a clue what we are talking about, especially Roxas since he still doesn't know what Sex is."

"…Sex?" Xion asked.

Pyra and Yukiko paused as they slowly looked over at the puppet, taking in her confused expression. "Oh no…Not you too." Yukiko said.

"Phphhhh, HAHAHA~" Pyra hollered suddenly, the atmosphere changing instantly "Oh, this is just too rich. What kind of Organization did you two come from? Didn't they at least teach Sex end?" She asked, wiping away a few tears of laughter.

"Sex-Ed?" Xion asked.

Roxas gave a sigh as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "Don't bother Xion. Every time I ask, they manage to avoid the topic every time."

"A-A-And for good Reason!" Yukiko exclaimed. "It's embarrassing!"

Before Roxas or Xion had the chance to ask why, Pyra took a deep inhale and smiled at them just as the elevator arrived at the right level.

"Thanks, Xion. I really needed that." She said as she cheerfully turned and exited the elevator.

"…I really didn't do anything though."

"That's the point. Sometimes, you just need someone that will listen rather than try and fix the problem." Pyra said happily, winking to both Roxas and Xion.

* * *

The previous conversation was all but forgotten as Pyra lead them around the facility before they found themselves standing in front of a massive door. Pyra was just about to push it open before a few people burst through it, nearly knocking the Hellhound on her ass.

Surprisingly, one of the people that came through was familiar.

"Kimihito?"

"Oh, Roxas!" Kimihito said before looking around at the others. "And everyone else. What are you all doing here?"

"Well, Pyra's Au-"

"Polt called me here" Pyra interrupted suddenly, causing all to look at her curiously.

"Oh, you know Polt?" Kimihito asked.

"PYRA!"

Suddenly, a brown blur shot past Kimihito and slammed into the hellhound, knocking her off her feet. The two bundles of fur wrestled around on the floor for a few seconds before the unfamiliar one got the upper hand, hugging the life out of the Hellhound.

"Polt! Get off me!" Pyra growled.

"Nooo! You never come to see me anymore." The energetic Kobold exclaimed, rubbing her face against Pyra's cheek.

"Because you always act like this. Get off! Your embarrassing me in front of my friends."

"Oh! That's right! Lil' Pyra made some friends." Polt said as she released the hellhound and stood on her feet, glancing around at the rest of the people in the room. "My name is Polt, the Kobold. It's nice to meet all." She said happily.

Everyone was staring at the Kobold in wonder. Honestly, she looked a lot like Pyra, just with brown fur covering her entire body. The ears were nearly identical though despite being a different color. She was also wearing a sports bra and a pair of workout shorts with sneakers.

A large fanged smile crossed Polt's face. "Well, don't just stand there! Introduce yourselves."

"O-Oh, I'm Yukiko. A Yeti." Yukiko said cheerfully.

"Roxas."

"Xion."

Polt blinked a couple times, taking Roxas's and Xion's lacking introduction. "Well, thank you for being friends with Lil' Pyra here." She said, throwing her arm around the disgruntled Hellhound. "She was always a loner and doesn't really open up to others."

"Yeah, she was that way with us too at first." Roxas said dryly.

"Oh, Cry me a river." Pyra said sarcastically as she slapped Polt's hand off and looked over at Kimihito. "So, what brings you here?"

Kimihito was still wondering how Polt and Pyra knew each other, but didn't probe any further. It was obvious that Pyra interrupted Roxas for a reason, so it was none of his business. "Well…" He started, scratching the back of his head. "The girls wanted to get some exercise today, so Smith recommended this place. They are getting changed out of there swim suits right now."

Hearing this caused Polt to deflate a bit. "I didn't realize that using chlorine wouldn't be good for mermaids. And the temperature must have been pretty bad if Miia froze like she did." She said before she pumped her fist in determination. "I will learn all I can from this experience and not make the same mistakes."

"It's much appreciated." Kimihito said with a smile. "But what you've already done here pretty amazing."

"Thank you! Since the culture exchange bill passed, I've had the opportunity to realize my dreams. I just can't stay still anymore. There is so much I want to accomplish!" Polt said, her eyes glowing with fiery determination.

"But if you do that, you'll eventually burn yourself out. You should take is easy occasionally." Pyra said, rolling her eyes.

"Not a chance! But anyway, I need your help…" She said as she glanced over at the other three kids standing there. "You're all welcome to help as well, but it's a big project."

"…We will help out." Roxas said.

"Yeah! This is the first time I've been to a Liminal owned Sports club."

"I-I would like to help out as well." Xion said.

"Alright! The more the merrier." Polt said. "Now follow me! We need to get you guys changed into some more suitable for the chore I have in mind."

"Alright, I'll leave you guys to it then. I've got to get started on dinner." Kimihito said with a smile as he reached over and Ruffled Yukiko's and Roxas's hair.

"Oh, don't go preparing anything for them. This is a pretty big project, so I'll order pizza or something." Polt said.

"Noted." Kimihito responded before feeling a little tug on his shirt. He glanced down to see Roxas there, staring up at him.

"Actually, can I talk to you for a second?" the nobody asked.

Kimihito looked down at him curiously. "Sure."

Roxas nodded as he looked over at the other girls. "Get started without me. I will join you in a few seconds."

The girls looked a little confused, but shrugged it off as they followed the ecstatic Kobold.

In the locker room, Polt had given each of the girls a dark blue one-piece club swimsuit to put on. Pyra and Yukiko were in the middle of undressing themselves before they noticed Xion looking at the fabric with fascination. She was turning the swimsuit over in her hands, observing every inch as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Is something wrong?" Yukiko asked while unclipping her bra.

"What's this for?" Xion asked, holding the swimsuit up.

"It's a swimsuit." Pyra said. "Haven't you ever seen one before?"

"Um…No."

"Geeze Xion, have you never gone swimming either." Yukiko asked as she started pulling the suit over her shoulders.

Xion watched her curiously before mimicking the Yeti by undressing herself. "I've seen the ocean a few times, but I've never been swimming." Xion responded.

"You're kidding me." Pyra said, also dressing herself in her own swim ware. "I mean, I haven't really been to the ocean before, but I've tested out Aunties pools."

"Speaking of which, what are we even doing? Why did we need swim suits?" Yukiko asked.

"Apparently, Auntie Polt is emptying one of the pools so Mermaids can use it."

"Why is she emptying it…" Yukiko said before she noticed Xion having a hard time with the suit. "Here, let me help you."

"…Thanks." Xion said meekly.

"Well, turns out that Mermaids can't swim in a chlorinated pool, so we need to empty one of them and clean the wall of all the chlorinated chemicals." Pyra sighed. "This is going to take forever."

"How big are the pools?" Yukiko asked as she pulled one of the sleeves over Xion's shoulders.

"Massive," Pyra responded.

Xion just finished putting on the swimsuit before she glanced down at herself. She was playing with the fabric uncomfortably with a small blush on her face.

"…This is so revealing." Xion commented.

"If you think this is revealing, wait till you see a bikini." Pyra responded with a grin.

"Awe! You look so cute with that on." Yukiko gushed as she circled around the puppet.

"I Do?"

"Yeah totally."

Another small blush of embarrassment formed on Xion's face. She couldn't describe it, but she felt a little happy that someone called her cute. Though she was still a bit unsure about the swimsuit.

"I wonder what kind of swimsuit Polt gave Roxas. I'm pretty excited to finally see what's under those cloths." Pyra grinned.

"P-Pyra!" Yukiko squeaked, a blush dotting her cheeks.

"What, I know you're just as curious as me. We both felt that body under his cloths when we held him down, and damn it felt good."

"Shhh!" Yukiko shushed as steam started rolling off her face. She threw a glance over at Xion, who had her head tilted cutely.

"You held him down?" Xion asked.

"Yeah, but we were just playing around." Pyra responded.

"Does playing around usually involve holding someone down?" Xion asked innocently as they exited the locker room.

"Ehh, sometimes. It really depends on what you're doing." Pyra said as she glanced over at the puppet. "Didn't you have any friends you messed around with?"

"…not the way your describing. Axel was the only one I really knew and we didn't do much besides train and eat sea-salt ice cream together."

"Oh, that sounds like fun." Yukiko chimed in, glad for the subject change.

A small smile crossed Xion's face. "It was fun."

* * *

Roxas had finished talking with Kimihito and was now standing in front of a mirror, looking at the club swim trunks Polt gave him. They were dark blue and had white stripes running along the sides. But he was still a bit curious why he had to wear this. If not for some younger memories of Sora, he would have been wondering what this type of clothing was anyway.

Taking this moment, he took a good look at himself. His torso was lean and well-built for speed. His abdominals were clearly visible, but not bulky. The rest of his body was toned because of the strenuous sparring sessions he did each morning with Kii.

But giving a shrug, he exited the boy's locker room and headed toward the pools. When he arrived, he already noticed that Xion, Yukiko, and Pyra were chatting it up with Polt. They were all wearing dark blue swimsuits as well.

That caused Roxas to pause. The suits were hugging each of their bodies tightly, leaving very little to the imagination. He remembered when he saw Yukiko a few weeks back in her furry bikini and how his body reacted. Currently, he was having a similar reaction when he saw the four women standing there. His face flared up slightly, and his body grew a bit warmer.

But what surprised him the most out of the four was Xion. He rarely saw her in anything other than her organization 13 coat, so it really threw him for a loop to see her in something so revealing. In fact, it was the same with Pyra because he was used to seeing her in a school uniform or casual cloths.

Clearing his throat and taking a deep breath, Roxas tried to bar the bombardment of strange feeling. He walked forward and caught their attention.

Right when the girls saw him, there was mixed reactions. For one, Yukiko made a very good impression of a tomato. Pyra stared for a few seconds before simply licking her lips seductively. Xion just blinked a few times, but didn't give much of a reaction. But the one who was most enthusiastic was Polt.

The instant the Kobold saw the nobody, she bounded up to him with a huge smile on her face.

"Wow! What kind of exercise do you do to get that physic?" Polt gushed.

"Um…"

Polt didn't wait for an answer as she invaded his personal space by reaching forward with both paws, feeling his shoulders. "Wow…" She murmured before making her way down his arms, caressing his chest and abdominals. "Perfectly toned, but not bulky as to lose any speed."

Roxas wasn't used to this kind of attention. His face flared up in embarrassment, but didn't make any move to stop her because he didn't have a clue what she was doing.

Pyra facepalmed, knowing that her aunt was never able to resist checking out someone's physic. She had basically done that to the three of them after they exited the locker rooms. Mostly to Poor Xion though because she also had a very impressively toned and petite figure.

Yukiko's eye was twitching in annoyance though as she watched Polt caress Roxas's body, a bit jealous.

"Ok Auntie, if your done fondling Roxas, don't we have a chore to do?" Pyra asked.

"Oh, right!" Polt said, releasing Roxas and dragging the nobody over to the other girls.

"T-Thanks Pyra." Roxas whispered, his face still red.

"Don't mention it. You owe me one though because Auntie is known to get carried away." Pyra responded with a grin, looking up and down the nobody's body.

* * *

After brief instruction from Polt, Yukiko, Roxas, Xion, and Pyra all started working on the pool. There technique involved wading in the water and cleaning the pool walls as the water slowly drained. That way, they wouldn't have to use latter's.

The only problem was that the pool was deep. So not only did it take a few hours to empty, but everyone was forced to exert more effort and clean the walls of the pool while keeping themselves afloat.

By the time the pool was emptied, Polt ordered pizza for everyone as a thank you. Sadly, the project was still not complete because they had to rinse off the walls of the pool to make sure the chlorine was completely gone and then they had to tackle the floor of the pool.

It was hours later and late in the evening when everyone was washing off the cleaning tools and storing them away. Afterwards, everyone took long and relaxing showers in the locker rooms and headed towards the lobby, completely exhausted.

"You guys are life savers." Polt said with her usual energetic smile. "If it was just me, I wouldn't be done till morning."

"S-Screw you." Pyra growled, her entire body dead tired from the project. She was sprawled over one of the couches, her face buried in the cushions.

"I c-can't move." Yukiko wined. She was laying on one of the other couches as well.

"Awe, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Plot asked cheerfully. "I mean, those two are just fine."

Pyra and Yukiko shot a glare over at Roxas and Pyra. They looked a little tired, but were standing just fine, drinking out of a bottle of water.

"Those two are unnatural!" Pyra growled. "If you've seen the way Roxas trains, then you wouldn't be saying anything."

"It's not fair." Yukiko chimed in.

"Well in any cases, I've gotta shut down for the night. I'm really not looking forward to the water bill this month."

"You'll be fine. With the amount of money you make that's not something you have to worry about." Pyra said, slowly pushing herself off the couch.

"True!" Polt said as a softer look crossed her face. "Pyra…My offer still stands you know."

"I know." Pyra said, turning her head away from the Kobold slightly.

Everyone looked between Polt and Pyra a few times, curious about what that was all about.

"But on a different note, I'm really not looking forward to walking all the way to Yukiko's place to drop her off…No offence." Pyra said, glancing at her Yeti friend.

"Non-taken. I'm not really looking forward to it either." Yukiko laughed.

"Well, don't both Xion and Roxas attend the academy?" Polt asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"Then wouldn't it be easier for Roxas to take one of you home, while Xion takes the other?"

"…"

"Auntie, you are a genius!" Pyra said happily as she rolled over off the couch and tried to stand up. Yukiko attempted to follow in her footsteps, but her body refused to move. Instead, she comedically flopped on the floor, letting out a pathetic wine.

"This isn't going to work." Pyra said. "It doesn't look like Yukiko can move…"

"It's only going to be worse in the morning." Polt said with a bright smile.

"Not helping!" Yukiko exclaimed, slowly pushing herself to her knees.

"Right, Right," Pyra said as she turned to her nobody friend. "So why don't you be a gentleman and carry Yukiko home Roxas."

"P-Pyra!" Yukiko squeaked from her position on the ground. Her face flared up a vibrant hue again much to the amusement of the hellhound. It was way too easy to get her riled up.

"…Ok then, I guess." Roxas said, moving over to the Yeti.

Yukiko was staring up at him, her eyes wide and a blush covering her face. She had fantasized about being carried by a price charming many times before, or maybe even recreating one of the moments she read about in one of her manga, where the boy carried the girl on his back and they walk off into the sunset.

However, her dreams were shattered when Roxas casually lifted the Yeti off the ground and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"…"

"What?" Roxas asked, noticing the deadpanned expression on Pyra and Plot's faces.

"…Really Roxas?" Pyra asked.

"What?" he asked again.

"Roxas! This isn't comfortable!" Yukiko said, flailing her arms about.

"It isn't?"

"No! Can't I at lease get a piggy back ride?" She asked, clearly a little annoyed.

"Piggyback?"

"You're killing me Roxas!" Pyra said, facepalming. "The sheer amount of cluelessness we deal with on a daily basis is exhausting."

"…Sorry?"

"Here, like this." Yukiko said, painfully flipping around so both her arms were around his neck. "Now grab my legs."

Roxas did as he was told by grasping her legs, just under the knees. "Like this?"

"P-perfect." Yukiko said, her blush returning she felt his warm hands under her legs. "Isn't this easier?"

"I guess."

Pyra watched the pathetically cringy scene with a little annoyance. But it wasn't like she didn't expect something like that from Roxas. He had almost zero common sense when it came to anything, especially romance. She was just trying to embarrass Yukiko and Roxas, but the entire situation turned out ridiculous as usual.

"Anyway…" Pyra said as she looked over at Xion. "Would you take me home now?"

"Ah…sure."

The group of friends exited the facility with Polt waving frantically behind them. "Thanks again for all your help! I couldn't have don't it without you! I'll make sure to call again sometime soon!"

"Screw you!" Pyra shouted back.

* * *

The trip back to Yukiko's apartment complex was quiet. Of Couse, that was mostly because the Yeti was dead tired after that astronomical chore at Sports club Kobold. Currently, she was snuggled up close, resting her head against Roxas's as he carried her back to her apartment. Her warm arms were gently constricted around his neck and her body pressed against his, trying to erase any kind of space between them.

And Roxas could tell. For some reason, he notices more and more how his body would react when Yukiko would hug or try and be close to him in any way. The soft sent of shampoo in her hair, the softness of her furry appendages, and the warms of her body. Even now when she wasn't saying a word, his body was warming up just by being near her.

He also remembered how his body reacted in a similar way when he saw everyone in their swimsuits. The strange feeling was still so unfamiliar, but it was happening more frequently the more he spent time with Yukiko and Pyra.

"What is going on with me?" Roxas whispered.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Yukiko asked tiringly into his ear.

"…"

Yukiko frowned as his silent answer, moving her head away from his a little so she could look at him. "Is something wrong?"

"…I don't know." Roxas said quietly.

"Am I too heavy?" Yukiko said, an embarrassed blush creeping up her face.

"No, I've just got a few things on my mind."

"Anything you'd like to talk about?" Yukiko asked hopefully.

"…Sorry…Not right now." Roxas responded, remembering Smith's warning about telling people about his origins. This world was just not ready for that knowledge yet.

"Oh…I see." Yukiko said, her voice taking a depressed tone.

"Sorry…" Roxas said, not sure what else he could say. He felt a little bad because he knew Yukiko would probably accept him for who he was.

"It's fine. We all have things we don't want to talk about." Yukiko said as they approached her apartment door. Roxas could tell the truth of her words as they drew closer. Her body seemed to tense up slightly and her arms wrapped around his neck just a little firmer.

"Are you ok?"

"Not anymore…" Yukiko whispered as she released one of her arms from around his neck and fished the keys out of her pocket. "Here."

"You want me to carry you inside?"

"If you would be so kind! I'm still tired." Yukiko laughed, dropping the keys in his hand and once again constrictor her arms around his neck.

Roxas hesitated for a second, but didn't respond as he unlocked the door and walked in. What he saw inside the apartment was borderline appalling. The air reeked of alcohol and tobacco, beer cans littered the floor along with bags of garbage.

"Ummm…" Murmured Roxas, trying not to breath in the polluted air.

"Just ignore the mess please. I guess Akio didn't do any cleaning today, so this place is thrashed." Yukiko said, looking completely embarrassed again. "I usually keep it tidy, but I was gone all day."

Roxas nodded, hurrying past the filth before making his way to a certain room as per Yukiko's instruction. Once inside, Roxas quickly closed the door behind him. Luckily, the stink didn't follow them into the room. Her window was wide open, allowing the fresh night air to filter out the smell from the rest of the apartment. That, and Roxas could smell the slight fragrance of perfume in the air as well.

Looking around, Roxas surveyed her room. It was nicely decorated with posters of popular pop idols, and pictures of various mountains around the world. Heck, there was even a bookshelf that was filled with Manga and other action figures.

"Just drop me on the bed Roxas." Yukiko said, trying to divert his attention away from her room.

"Right." Roxas responded, walking over to the bed and tactlessly dropping her.

"ooof! Geeze, can't you be a bit gentler?" Yukiko wined, laying on her back while sprawling over the bed, stretching her sore limbs as far as she could while giving a yawn.

"Sorry…"

"No, it's fine. I should have guessed you'd do something like that. With you, I forget that I need to be very specific about everything." She giggled.

"I guess so…" Roxas said as he glanced back at the door. "Is your apartment always this…messy?"

"…Yeah, but I try to keep it clean." Yukiko said, her embarrassment returning. "But ever since I started hanging out with you and Pyra, I haven't had as much time."

"Oh…do you want me to drop you off a little earlier then?" Roxas asked.

Yukiko's face turned white. "N-NO! I love studying with you, Pyra, and Suu. I've had so much fun with everyone at big bro's house. It was the first time that…" she trailed off a little while her countenance dipped a bit. "The first time that I made friends since I got here."

"Sorry…I didn't mean…"

"No, don't worry about it Roxas." Yukiko smiled softly. "Hey, c'mere. I wanna to tell you something."

Roxas raised an eyebrow as he watched her beckon him. He held a paw to her mouth, as if she wanted to whisper something. After being around her and everyone else for a while, he was beginning to understand such gestures and leaned over the bed so he could hear her. What he didn't expect was for her to grab his head with both paws and hug it tightly to her chest.

The Nobodies body went stiff as a board while Blood rushed to his face as the Yeti started gently playing with his hair. "You know, it's been a while since it was just you and me Roxas."

"…"

Roxas would have responded if his mind had the ability to think straight. Unfortunately, it was a whirlwind of chaos and confusion. He had no idea why his temperature was on the rise again, nor did he understand why his body refused to listen to him. It was a bit frightening, but there was also a feeling of comfort that went along with Yukiko's gentle but frim embrace.

Yukiko giggled a little when she saw the redness of Roxas's ears. But a more somber look crossed her face. "Hey Roxas?"

Roxas blinked a few times before he raised his face out of her chest and looked up at her, trying desperately to regain control of his body. "Y-Yes?"

"You know if something's on your mind, you have friends you can talk to, right?" Yukiko asked, resting a paw on his cheek.

"…I know." Roxas said.

"Then why do you always shy away from me and Pyra? You always act like there is something you want to say, but are afraid to say it. You act so secretive that we hardly know anything about you."

"…I really don't know that much about myself either." Roxas responded. "But do I really act like that?"

"Yes! Like when we were walking home. There was something on your mind, but you wouldn't tell me. Why is that Roxas?" Yukiko asked, a small frown covering her face.

Roxas averted his gaze from her. He really didn't like the look she was giving him. "It's because…I don't know how to explain it." Roxas said, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. "I don't remember anything, so when I experience something new, I don't know how to react to it? I don't know…why I react to it I guess."

"…Your right, that doesn't make much sense." Yukiko giggled.

"I know," Roxas laughed alongside her. "But because of that, there is a lot of stuff I think about. I have a lot of questions that I don't know how to ask."

"…" There was a brief pause as Yukiko and Roxas stared at each other before Yukiko cracked a smile. "Well, when you do know how to ask your questions, I'm there for you. Both me and Pyra."

"I know…" Roxas said as he tried to push himself off Yukiko, but the Yeti wasn't quite done yet. She pulled his head back down to her and held him there. "Yukiko?"

"Just let me hug you a little more. It's…comforting." She whispered with a content sigh. "I always feel safe when I hug you."

Roxas didn't know how much time passed as Yukiko continued to gently hold him gently. But weather it was hours or minutes, the Yeti's grip loosened, allowing Roxas to push himself away from her. But something in her eyes told told Roxas that she really didn't want to let go when she finally did.

But turning away from her, he pushed himself off the bed and stretched his arms to the sky, giving a small yawn. He might not have been as burnt out as Yukiko, but the chore was still tiring.

"See you tomorrow Roxas." Yukiko whispered, already closing her eyes.

"You too…and Yukiko…" Roxas said, looking back at the Yeti. She peeked back at him with one eye open. "What you said to me, about relaying on your friends and talking to them…"

"Yeah?"

"…You should take your own advice. Both Pyra and I know that there's something that bothers you, so just know that you can talk to us about it as well."

"…I know." Yukiko said sadly, averting her gaze by closing her eyes once again.

Roxas took that as his signal to leave, so he turned around and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Right when he left, Yukiko paused for a moment, waiting for Roxas's foot steps to disappear before she opened her eyes and pushed herself off the bed, hobbling slowly over to the door before locking it. She then turned to the small dresser next to the door and moved it in front, sealing the door shut. She then hobbled back to her bed before flopping back down, hugging her pillow tightly to her chest.

"I-I want to stay with you guys, but that's why I can't tell you yet…" Yukiko whispered sadly as she slowly let slumber take her.

* * *

Roxas was walking down the hallway in the direction of the door. He was just about to pass the living room before a body suddenly jumped out in front of him.

"Who the fuck is you!" The man slurred.

Roxas jumped slightly before recognizing the man.

"I'm Roxas. I was just taking Yukiko home. You're Akio, right? Yukiko's host?"

"Oh, I recognize you." Akio growled. "You're Yukiko's little buddy-buddy. The one she hangs out with alongside that bitch."

Roxas's eyes narrowed a little more. "Don't talk about Pyra like that."

"Oh? Are you offended I called your little friend a bitch? Or maybe I should call her Hell's bitch." The man laughed.

Roxas could feel his anger starting to bubble. He really didn't like this guy.

"Well anyway, get out of my home before I call the cops for trespassing." Akio said.

Roxas just glared at the man before turning around and walking to the entrance of the apartment. He then walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

Akio just grunted before walking back to the living room and picking up another can of beer before guzzling it down.

Just as he finished, the phone on the coffee table rang. Akio grunted in annoyance before picking it up and looking at the caller ID. A grin spread across his face as he answered.

"Hello?"

"…"

"Yes, everything is still according to plan." Akio said.

"…"

"Nope, not even smith suspects a thing."

"…"

"Of course not! Who do you take me for? None of those kids saw my face?"

"…"

"Right. So, do we have a buyer yet?"

"…"

"well hurry it up! Taking care of this noisy Yeti is getting on my nerves."

"…"

"I'll talk to you however the fuck I want. You're the one who screwed up and lost us all the Liminal kids. Do you know how much we would have made off them? We lost good partners that day."

"…"

"Yeah, whatever. Just make it happen already." Akio finished as he ended the phone call, dropping it back on the table.

* * *

 **Authors Note: And there you have it. The next chapter down. Now I added a little backstory to Pyra, and it will be delved into more in the future, but again, with my scattered upload schedule, that may take a while. Sorry.**

 **Again, thanks for making this story one of the most reviewed DLWAMG crossover on the site. It really means a lot to me.**

 **So, if you enjoyed the chapter and want this story to continue, please let me know in a review. Thank you so much.**

 **Until then!**


	16. Chapter 16: Day 31-35

**Authors Note: Thank you all for the support on the last chapter. I had such a good time writing it that starting this one was a bit easier…that and your comments on the last chapter really gave me motivation to continue this story. So, if you want more updates, please leave a review. It helps me out immensely. Now, I am thinking about starting a new story, but I'm not sure if I should or not. If I do start a new story, then it will probably not star Roxas nor will it even be a Kingdom Hearts Crossover. I attempted to write a concept similar to this in the past, but I didn't like how I wrote the first chapter. It was a Hunter X Hunter crossover with RWBY. But this time, I think I will have Killua be alone when he goes to remnant. There is only one fanfiction so far staring Killua, but my story will have a pretty different direction.**

 **I'm rambling now. I don't know if I will do it or not, but for now, this story will continue.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't how anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 16

Day 31-35

A soft clicking echoed through the room as Roxas typed away at his keyboard. Currently, the nobody was sitting at his desk, trying to organize the series of adventures he witnessed Sora going through in his dreams. Since the dreams seemed to jump back in forth non-chronologically, it was difficult to tell the order in which each event took place.

"No Roxas, that didn't happen yet." Suu said, reading what the nobody was writing. The Slime was sitting on his lap, reading through the words he typed and making sure he didn't recount something out of order.

"Right…Neverland happened after Halloween town, right?" Roxas said, reaching up and gently stroking the slimes head. "Thanks Suu."

The slime beamed up at him with her usual wide smile before turning back to the screen. After Roxas had learned that Suu had intruded on his dreams while he slept, he thought it would be helpful for her to assist him when he recounted the adventures.

Speaking of which, the story about Sora was becoming...massive. With every little adventure on each world, all the people he met, and every conflict Sora needed to solve was practically enough to fill an entire book by itself. The story was becoming so huge that Roxas had to separate the different trips to each world as its own separate document, each one being over a few hundred pages of text.

It had become somewhat of a ritual after taking Pyra and Yukiko home that Roxas and Suu would sit as his desk and write more of the story of Kingdom Hearts. While Roxas learned a majority about emotional interaction from everyone in Kimihito's house, writing this story help fill in quite a few gaps and answer a lot of questions. It was interesting to see how Sora handled different situations based on concepts of friendship, trust, betrayal, and so much more. It was like a goldmine of understanding.

And the strangest part about all this was the fact that every bit of this story was somewhat familiar to the Nobody. It was almost as if Roxas had a nostalgic feeling as he recounted it. But even though he felt this way, he had no idea as to why. He didn't know why he kept having dreams about Sora, nor did he know why he felt as if he were standing right beside his fellow Keyblade wielder through all the adventures.

"Roxas, did captain hook get eaten by the Alligator?" Suu asked, peering up at him with her large emerald eyes.

Roxas blinked a few times as he chuckled at the memory. "I don't know, but I think the alligator just chased him away. Not really sure if it ate him or not."

"Oh~" Suu said as she rested her back against the nobody, reading through the story again. The Slime's knowledge was progressing at such a fast rate now. She could read and type on her own.

Not only that, but the slime had gained great control over her own body. Even right now as she was sitting on Roxas's lap, he didn't feel any dampness from her body at all. She would still occasionally wear her raincoat and boots, but that was becoming less and less now that she didn't constantly absorbed everything around her. Pretty soon, she might even be able to wear regular clothing if she wanted to. She did mention a couple times that she wanted to fit in with everyone else.

Along that through process, Roxas did ask Smith one time if Suu could join them in school, but smith sadly had to reject the proposal. Apparently, Slimes were not covered by the Exchange bill, so the government would not pay for her tuition. And Roxas couldn't ask Kimihito for money because the man had already done so much for him.

Roxas's through process was interrupted when he felt two large mounds pressing against the back of his head while sharp hands with intertwined fingers rested on the crown. This was quickly followed by a chin which rested on the fingers.

"Watcha' two doing?" A seductive voice said from above both Roxas and Suu.

Roxas's eye twitched a little as he instantly recognized that voice. For the life of him, he could not figure out how this spider-woman was able to sneak up on him like that. Considering her immense size, that should have been impossible. But she was as silent as an assassin.

"What do you want Rachnera?" Roxas grumbled, still typing away on his keyboard while ignoring the weight on the top of his head.

"I'm bored, and how many times have I told you to call me Rachnee? Everyone else in this house does."

"Many. And if you're board, go bug Kimihito." Roxas responded dryly. He still didn't really trust the Arachnera yet after his unfortunate history with her.

"I think Honey has enough to deal with right now. Besides, I've teased him enough today, don't you think?" She asked, roughly feathering her sharp fingers through Roxas's scalp and attempting to read the document on the computer screen.

She wasn't lying about that. Ever since she got here, the Arachnera has been teasing Kimihito non-stop. Whether it was tripping him so he would fall face first in her breasts, assaulting him while on the toilet, of even breaking into his room, it seemed that the Spider-Woman took great joy in turning her host into a blushing mess.

"Then go find something else to do-"

"…Kingdom Hearts – Neverland." Rachnera interrupted, peering at the document's name. "What's that supposed to be? You are writing a book or something?" she asked, interest clear in her voice.

"Not really…" Roxas replied, trying to ignore the fact that Rachnera was intentionally pushing her assets against the back of his head even more. "Kimihito suggested I keep a dream journal, just in case something sounds familiar."

"Oh yeah, you have amnesia. So, does it help?" Rachnera asked, now uncomfortably grinding her elbow into his shoulder while resting her chin in her palm to get a better look at the screen.

"…Well, not particularly. I mean, sometimes it seems familiar, but I doubt its anything from my past." Roxas responded, his eye twitching at the uncomfortable position. He knew the Arachnera was doing this intentionally. She was always trying to get under his skin.

"Hmmm…" Rachnera hummed as she continued to read over his shoulder. "It seems pretty interesting. How much have you written so far?"

Roxas pursed his lips in annoyance. It didn't seem like she was going to leave them alone anytime soon, so he decided to humor her for now. He quickly saved the document before minimizing the text editor. He then showed Rachnera all the folders which contained all the files he had been working on. There was a total of 11 folders packed with multiple chapters representing every world that Sora and his friends visited and their adventures.

"Hmmm~" Rachnera hummed in interest. "You wrote all this?"

Roxas simply nodded as he opened the screen back to the original file he'd been working on. "Yeah. At first, I was just writing down everything I saw. But then the document got to big, so I separated them into chapters…. then…"

"Then?"

"Then I had to many chapters, so then I separated them once again into folders." Roxas finished, leaning back against the chair in an attempt to shove the spider-woman away. It did little to help because she didn't move.

"Wow~ I was wondering what you were doing after you took your little girlfriends home." Rachnera said, pushing back off the Nobody. She hoped to see a blush, or any kind of embarrassed reaction, but instead the nobody gave her a flat look.

"Suu and I do this before bed almost every night." Roxas said, turning back to the computer and allowing the slime to type down a few things. "It helps Suu lean."

"Interesting…" Rachnera said, scratching her chin.

"Yeah, but it's a little more difficult than before. I made a lot of mistakes when writing all this down, so now I am just fixing the errors." Roxas responded, switching with the slime and correcting a few more sentences before letting her take over again.

"Huh, sound like you could use an editor." Rachnera commented.

Roxas paused before he turned in his chair and looked at her. "An editor?"

"Yeah, you know, someone who corrects all the problems and fixes issues like grammar, plot holes, and typos. That way you can focus on actually finishing the story." Rachnera said, a smile creeping along her face.

"I've already finished this…part of the story though." Roxas said, referring to Sora's first series of adventures. He had been having some dreams about the Keyblade master recently, but they were mostly training and vising the same worlds to keep the heartless from getting out of control. Nothing too interesting was going on.

"I'll tell you what Lil' bro…" Rachnera said, crossing her arms.

"Lil' Bro?" Roxas asked, his eyebrow raised.

"How about you let me edit your work. It seems like a pretty interesting story." Rachnera said. "And who knows, it might be good enough to publish one day."

Roxas paused to think about it a little. It was a risky game to play because Smith didn't want anyone to know about other worlds and the heartless. But then again, it wasn't like he was telling the Spider-Woman anything. She was just reading about Sora and his adventures. It's not like she would conclude that this was a real story.

"Why would you do that for me?" Roxas asked curiously.

"Well, I get board during the day. Sure, I have a few things I do, like tease Honey, educate Suu and Pappy, and help Honey with the bills by selling my silk, but other than that, I got nothing to do."

"…You help teach Suu?" Roxas asked before looking down at the slime.

Suu beamed back up at him. "Rachnee is a great teacher. She knows a lot and answers a lot of Suu's questions."

"Is that so?" Roxas said, gently stroking the slimes head before looking up at the spider woman. "Well, I don't see why not."

Rachnera grinned at him, showing off her sharp fang. "Great, just send me the first few folders and I will get started on them." She said before she turned around and walked over to his window. "I'll look forward to it."

The Arachnera then opened the window and silently snuck out like a ninja.

"…"

Both Suu and Roxas stared at the window for a few moments.

"So, that's how she keeps sneaking into my room."

* * *

Mornings had always been easy for our favorite Nobody. Especially since he had developed a habit of assisting a certain dryad with cleaning the forest, and in return she gave him some morning exersize. However, this morning was a bit different because by the time Roxas's mind began to awaken from his slumber, he noticed there was a strange weight pressing down on him. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet and something strange was going on.

Eventually though, he groaned a bit before his eyelids slowly opened. What he didn't expect to see was another pair of blue eyes staring directly at him with a curious and confused expression on her face. It didn't take long before he recognized his fellow member of Organization 13.

"…Xion…What are you doing?" Roxas asked, realizing that the Black-haired girl was…pinning him down for some reason. Her Pajama shrouded legs were straddling his hips while both hands were on his shoulders. Funny enough, the girl looked as confused as he was.

"…I don't know." Xion Responded, sitting up and releasing the pressure on his shoulders. "Yesterday, Pyra said that friends…pin each other down. I…was curious as to why friends do that, so I wanted to try."

Roxas gave her a deadpanned look. It was kinda funny when she took what Pyra said so literally, but it seemed that she was trying to understand the concept of friendship just like he was when he first arrived on this world.

"Um…That happened just once, and we were just playing around." Roxas said as he gave a yawn.

"Playing around?" Xion asked in clarification. "What does that mean?"

"…"

Roxas paused as he thought about her question. When Pyra and Yukiko suddenly tackled him to the ground like that, it just seemed natural to mess around and play with them too. There were no questions asked, it just happened naturally, so it was hard to explain what lead to it.

"I don't know how to answer that question." Roxas final said, attempting to sit up. Xion took that as a clue and rolled off the nobody, sitting on her knees on the edge of his bed. "Things like that just happen naturally. When you spend more time with everyone, I think you will begin to understand."

"…" Xion took a moment to process his worlds before giving a small nod. "I guess you're right. I just want to understand friendship better and I thought that if I listened to Pyra, I might be able to comprehend it."

Roxas chuckled as he threw his legs over the side of the bed. "Like I said, most of those things you learn naturally by spending more time with people who have emotions."

"…"

Roxas noticed that the puppet didn't say anything, so he glanced over at her. She had her head tilted, staring at him intently.

"What?" Roxas asked.

"You just laughed. But not just that, you express a lot of different emotions when you interact with others in this house." Xion pointed out.

"Do I?" Roxas asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Yes! But how is that possible? Nobodies are not supposed to have emotion…right?" Xion asked as she leaned in closer, staring into his eyes. "And you aren't just pretending like Axel does."

"…How can you tell?" Roxas asked. Truthfully, he did think it was strange at first that he was experiencing emotions, but after a while, it just seemed natural to smile, joke, and express himself around his friends. Of course, they weren't nearly to the extent as everyone else, but it was something noticeable.

"…It's the look in your eyes." Xion said, leaning back again. "Every member of the Organization has nothing but an empty look in their eyes. They pretend to have emotions, but you can tell that they really don't. But it's different for you. I can see that there is something more about you Roxas."

Roxas went silent as he thought about her words. It was true that he was consistently feeling something more than just emptiness. In fact, the more time he spent with his friend, the emptiness in his being began to fill with something else.

"I want to know what that is." Xion continued.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to know what is replacing the emptiness." Xion said softly.

"…I guess we both do." Roxas replied. There was a brief silence between the two before Roxas glanced over at his alarm clock. He paused for a moment before suddenly standing up. "I have to get going!"

Xion blinked a couple times before she looked over at the clock as well. "What do you mean? School does start for a while."

"It's not school that I'm worried about." Roxas said as he quickly ran over to his closet and pulled out an outfit before changing, not caring that Xion was still in the room. The then threw on his Organization 13 Coat. "I have a friend that I meet up with every morning. I help her clean the forest and she helps me train…And I haven't seen her for a few days."

"A friend that helps you train?" Xion asked in interest.

"Yeah…" Roxas said as he glanced over at the curious puppet. "Want to meet her?"

"Can I?" Xion asked.

"Yeah! Hurry up and get changed. But I warn you, she doesn't take to strangers that well."

It was a few moments later that both Xion and Roxas were racing towards the forest on the outskirts of town. They looked like two black blurs as they shot down the streets early in the morning.

Roxas had to admit that Xion was fast. She could keep up with him quite easily. It seemed that she didn't slack on her training during her time in castle oblivion.

However, it wasn't long before they reached the place where Roxas usually met up with the Dryad. Both he and Xion paused as they looked around the seemingly empty forest area. For the most part, the forest was a lot cleaner then when Roxas first came here almost a month ago. In the past, this place was littered with trash and pollution, but now the trees seemed healthier and the air was much easier to breath.

"Roxas…You actually came today."

Roxas spun around to see a familiar Dryad standing there. She even looked a little different this time. Her entire figure had matured out quite a bit and she even stood taller than before.

Roxas scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry, there were some things I had to take care of."

"Humans came into my first looking for you. You should be grateful I let them off with a warning." She said firmly before her eyes landed on Xion. The Dryad glanced between Roxas and the Puppet a few times, noticing that they were wearing similar coats. "And what did I tell you about brining unfamiliar people into my forest. Have you not learned that I don't like strangers?"

"I know Kii…" Roxas said as he gestured to Xion. "But she is also a friend and I was hoping that we could all train together."

"…Why would I allow that?" Kii asked, a frown marring her brow. "What could she possibly offer in return?"

Roxas paused for a few moments, thinking about the question before a small grin crossed his face. He turned to Xion, who looked a little nervous under the piercing gaze of the Dryad. "Xion, how much magic do you know?"

"…I know all of the basics…and some more advanced spells." She replied, glancing between Roxas and the Dryad.

"Good" Roxas nodded as he turned back to Kii, who was now crossing her bark covered arms and tapping her foot impatiently. "Are you polluted?"

"…The pollution has been better since you began helping me, but it has built up slightly since you left." Kii answered.

"Xion…" Roxas said turning to the puppet before whispering to her.

The Puppet took a few seconds to listen before her brow raised. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes."

"…Ok then." Xion responded with uncertainty. She then turned to the Tree-Liminal before slowly approaching.

"What are you doing?" Kii asked, her body becoming tense the closer Xion got.

"Just…give her a change Kii, like how you gave Pyra and Yukiko a chance. I promise you won't regret it." Roxas said, folding his arms.

Kii pursed her lips, but stayed still as Xion approached. Soon, the puppet was standing right in front of her before extending her glove covered hand.

"Cure."

Kii's eyes widened as she felt a familiar warmth cover her entire body. The green light emanated with her being, and any pollution that may have built upon her body was depleted with the execution of the spell.

There was a brief silence as the spell ended, no one daring to say the first words.

"…There are others like you?" Kii asked Roxas in wonder.

"A few." Roxas responded.

"…"

Kii contemplated hard for a long time, weighting out the pros and cons of allowing yet another person into her forest. She really didn't like it that she was being so lenient, but this seemed like a good investment if this new person could do the same things as Roxas.

"Can you also use the…Corridor of darkness?" Kii asked.

Xion cocking her head in confusion as to why that would matter, but she nodded anyway.

"…Then you may have something to offer me. My forest is polluted and I found that using your teleportation ability is convenient for getting rid of the garbage." Kii continued. "If you can help me cleanse my forest, then I will assist you in your training."

"Thanks…Kii." Xion said, a small smile on her face. "My name is Xion."

"…"

Kii stared at the puppet, her eyes still a little narrowed. For some reason, she was getting a very familiar vibe from this girl. The Dryad glanced over at Roxas before she realized what that vibe was. It was the same feeling that she got from Roxas the first time she met him. He seemed so empty when they first met, but he had changed a lot from them. But now it was almost like Déjà vu with this girl.

* * *

It was a couple hours later that both Roxas and Xion were tired and sweaty. Kii had put them through the ringer after they were done cleaning another section of the forest for the day. Sure, Roxas and Xion spared, but When Kii added her ability to manipulate the forest, things got much more intense. Turns out that Xion was quite skilled with magic, but she didn't have a weapon like the rest of the members of Organization 13.

Roxas recalled when he overheard Xemnas and Xigbar talked about the puppet, but he really didn't understand what they meant when they talked about her. Apparently, she was supposed to copy his abilities, or something like that, but that didn't make much sense. Honestly, the more time he spent with the puppet, the more he realized that she was just like any other nobody, only more curious. She simply wanted to know more about emotions and why it seemed that she and the rest of the nobodies lacked them.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Roxas slowly stood up and stretched his arms to the sky. It had been a few days since he met up with Kii. He forgot how tiring it could be.

Suddenly though, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Glancing over, he noticed that Kii was standing there…rather close to him. She had a much softer look in her eyes as she peered into his.

"…I was worried when I heard you went missing." She said simply.

Again, Roxas felt a little bad about the stunt he pulled on everyone. He remembered how worried Pyra, Yukiko, Suu, and everyone had been, not to mention how they reacted when he returned.

"…I'm sorry."

"It's ok. You can make it up to me by helping me finish cleaning my forest…" Kii responded before glancing over at Xion. "And don't bring any more people here."

"…why not Kii?" Roxas asked. "What's wrong with making friends?"

"…"

Kii was silent as she pondered his question, but before she could respond, Roxas asked another question.

"Don't you enjoy it when Yukiko and Pyra come to visit? You even told me that you enjoy companionship, so why are you so against meeting new people?"

Giving a sigh, the Dryad released Roxas's shoulder and took a step back. "I guess it's just part of my nature. Nature has battled humanity since the beginning of time, and it's almost ingrained in my being to hate humans."

"…Does it really have to be that way?"

"It does…" Kii confirmed. "when you first entered my forest, you saw what humans did. But it wasn't just humans, but civilization as well. That includes most Liminal. Just listening to the cries of the forest when civilization destroys it is enough to fuel the anger of all dryads."

"…I'm sorry you feel that way Kii."

"But that's not all, Humans are the most selfish creatures I have ever witnessed. I was ripped from my home by humans that simply wanted to sell me and a few other Liminal children for money. They didn't consider our feeling and only saw us as a way to get gain. So, do you really blame me for my hatred."

"…Kii…" Roxas said as he turned to her. "I don't blame you for anything, but even you realize that not all people are like th-."

"I know Roxas. Even those two human that came into my forest looking for you, I could tell that they were decent people, but I couldn't take that chance…not again."

"Again?" Roxas asked.

Kii realized that she said to much and closed her mouth. "Shouldn't you be going home right about now? I think we are done for today."

Roxas frowned, but nodded slowly. He could tell that she wanted to say something else, but stopped for some reason. He wanted to ask, but it looked like she wasn't going to say anything else to him that day.

* * *

Even though most days at school was a bit dull, Roxas had to admit that hanging out with all his friends was worth every moment. Ever since the Photography club had been established, the entire club would always get together whenever possible. Whether it was to eat lunch, walking around the school, break times, and club activities, the group of six were nearly inseparable.

Though it was kind of mysterious how Callie would Randomly drag Ichiro away every so often. When Roxas asked about it one time, the two of them blushed like crazy and immediately tried to change the subject. Pyra was having way too much fun with it though, giving one innuendo after another because she perfectly understood what was going on behind the scenes.

Speaking of the two, Callie and Ichiro had become quite close. They would always laugh at each other stupid jokes, sat next to each other during lunch, and when they returned from one of their mysterious disappearances, they would always return with Callie attached to Ichiro while the boy looked like a zombie.

It was a bit later in the day when the Photography club was gathered together in the clubroom, discussing there first club activity. It had been a few days since the club was established, and they had nothing to show for it yet.

"So, do we have any ideas? I am open for suggestions." Ichiro asked, establishing himself as the president of the club.

"You did mention that the newspaper club was interested in collaborating, so what about working with them?" Pyra suggested. She was a bit interested to meet the other members of the club.

"That idea had crossed my mind, but they are out of town for the week. Something about taking a field trip to a sunflower farm…or something like that."

"A field trip?" Yukiko asked with a bit of excitement. "Will we be able to do that sometime?"

"We have to think of some projects first before we schedule a trip." Ichiro reminded them.

"Well, you are the president, so what do you think we should do?" Pyra asked while resting her chin in her palm.

"Hmm…" Ichiro hummed. "Well, since this is a new club, we should start out with something small."

"Such as?" Callie asked, glancing up at the orange haired president.

"I propose we have a small gallery exhibit. Each one of us takes at least 10 photographs of something that interests us and put it up for display. That way, we can also get a feel for what everyone likes, which will make planning for future projects much easier."

"Hmm…" Pyra hummed. "That sounds not half bad. But what do you mean by our interests?"

"I mean take pictures of anything you find interesting." Ichiro said, resting a hand on his hip while pointing one finger into the air. "The greatest thing about Photography is the freedom to capture anything you want and keep it forever. Whether it be a scenario, a certain place, or even a person, photography can capture that special moment and then you can cherish it forever."

"…Wow, that was almost poetic." Pyra said sarcastically, causing Ichiro to blush in embarrassment.

"I like the sound of that." Yukiko said happily.

"You…really like Photography." Roxas said, but he had to admit that what Ichiro said was interesting. To be able to capture memories and keep them forever was an appealing thought.

"Can you perhaps give us an example?" Xion asked quietly.

"Sure!" Ichiro said as he whipped a few pictures out of nowhere and placed them on the table.

Everyone glanced at them before slowly looking up at Ichiro, their eyes slowly widening.

"How in the world did you take these?" Yukiko asked, picking up one of the photos and scanning it over.

Ichiro scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I've been doing photography for a long time…and I got really skilled at taking pictures when people lest suspect it."

"…you know, if I didn't know who you were, I would think this was really creepy." Pyra said.

"I've…heard that a lot from my family." Ichiro said, his blush returning. "But I like to document events like these because it really does preserve the memories."

"…You can say that again." Roxas said as he picked up a photograph as well. What was so curious about all these photos was the fact that they were all of the photography club. The one Roxas was looking at was of them all eating lunch together, laughing at some joke that either Pyra or Yukiko made while chowing down on their food. Even with a single glance, memories of that time returned to Roxas, making him feel just a little nostalgic even though this event took place just a couple days ago.

"But this one is my favorite so far." Ichiro said, pulling out one last photograph and showing it to everyone. It was a picture of them all, standing in the clubroom side by side. Again, Roxas recognized this photo because this was a request Ichiro made a few days ago when they had their first official club meeting. It took a while to convince everyone, but eventually, they all smiled for the camera…well, all except Pyra, who looked like she wanted to kill someone.

"OH! That turned out Great…" Yukiko said before she glanced at Pyra. "Really Pyra?"

"Hey, did you expect anything else?" Pyra asked with a grin. "Besides, our president got plenty others while he was secretly taking photographs of us."

"Can you blame me? No offence Pyra, but I don't think I will ever get you to smile in a photograph unless you don't know about it." Ichiro responded.

"Smart boy." Pyra grinned. "But it's still kinda creepy."

Ichiro deflated a bit. "So, do you understand the concept?" he asked, getting a round of nods from everyone. "Good, then have your photographs taken by next week and I will set up the gallery with Mrs. Kitsuna."

* * *

Roxas, Pyra, Yukiko, and Xion waved goodbye to Callie and Ichiro before they started to walk home after the club meeting. They were chatting about random things, but Roxas's mind was on the assignment that their club president gave them. He had one week to take 10 pictures of something he was interested in. There was only one problem with this…

He really didn't have any interests.

There wasn't anything he really wanted to photograph because he had only been alive for about a little over a month. In all that time, there was not much he would do besides go to school, help Kimihito out with chores, hang out with Pyra, Yukiko, and Xion, train with Kii, and sleep. What else did he do that was worth taking a picture of?

That though was plaguing Roxas's mind during the entire walk home. He didn't make too much conversation with the others, but they were busy talking about girl's stuff, so they didn't mind his silence all that much.

When they arrived back home, they did homework together with Suu, played some games with Papi and Miia, chatted it up with Centorea, and ate a well-prepared meal by Kimihito. Still though, he had a lot of time to ponder what he wanted to photograph, but he still couldn't come up with anything yet. What would he want to take a picture of?

* * *

It was the end of another and Roxas was about to walk Yukiko and Pyra home when Kimihito came up behind the nobody and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, I just wanted to tell you that Rachnera wanted to see you." Kimihito said with a smile. "Xion and I will take Yukiko and Pyra home."

Roxas frowned a little because this was the first time that Kimihito offered to do this. "She can wait until I get back." Roxas responded.

"Well, that's true, but didn't you want me to…talk to a certain someone?" Kimihito asked, his eyes darting over to Pyra.

Roxas instantly knew what he was talking about and nodded. "Do…you think you might be able to help?"

"Who knows, but it's better than doing nothing. And besides, I did talk a little with Polt while the girls were changing, so I may have an idea of what I can say." Kimihito responded.

Roxas looked down slightly, feeling a little bad about making his host do this. But this was the only thing he could think of because he was a nobody. He didn't have nearly the experience required to understand what Pyra went through in the past. He didn't know what to say nor how he could comfort her. So, the only person he trusted that might be able to help would be Kimihito.

"…Thanks…" Roxas said quietly. "I…Just didn't know what else I could do to help her."

Kimihito gave a soft smile as he rested a hand on his shoulder. "I know Roxas, but you are trying, and that's what really counts. But you also must realize that you shouldn't make a habit of sharing other people's personal lives without their consent. You lose friends that way." He said, watching Roxas's form slump a bit.

"I know, you told me that a couple days ago."

"I did, so don't be surprised if Pyra is upset with you."

"I know, but…I just…"

"I know Roxas, it's just advice for the future. Now go up to the attic and see what Rachnee wants. She seemed pretty enthusiastic."

Roxas frowned a little in confusion, but nodded his head and left the kitchen before walking upstairs.

It didn't take long before he was standing in front of the hatch that lead to Rachnera's attic. The nobody reached up and was about to knock on the door before it suddenly burst open. Without any warning, a large web shot out of the dark opening, sticking to the nobody before hoisting him up into the hatch. The door slammed shut him.

Unluckily though, Roxas accidently slammed his head on the frame as he was pulled into the attic.

"…ouch." The nobody murmured, blinking his eyes a few times to allow them to adjust to the darkness. The only light in the room was a computer screen on a desk in the corner of the room. It's illuminant glow was just potent enough to shroud Rachnera's frame. She was looking down at Roxas with her arms folded and a large smile on her face. "Was that necessary?"

"Oh, completely!" Rachnera said as she moved closer to the captured nobody. His arms were tied to his sides wither webs and he was sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of her.

"…Why am I tied up?"

"Force of habit." Rachnera said, lowering her body so she was about eye level with him and bending over a bit more to show off her cleavage. "After all, I get plenty of practice during the day with everyone in the house."

"...I know, so what do you want?"

"Straight down to business as usual, no foreplay for you." She said as she leaned back and turned to her computer. "To be completely honest, the chapters you sent me for editing…"

"Yeah?"

"They were really intriguing." She said as she began typing away, making sure to be gentle with the keyboard. "There were grammar and type errors everywhere, but it's not too bad for your first-time writing."

"…Thanks?" Roxas responded. Honestly, he didn't know how to take the praise. He didn't think he would be sharing his dream journal with anyone besides Suu. Nor did he think anyone would be particularly interested either, which was the main reason he didn't share it with anyone else.

"But there is one thing I wanted to ask you…" Rachnera said, glancing over her shoulder.

"What?"

"…Do you think this story is about your past?"

"…"

Roxas paused for a moment before he shook his head the negative.

"Why not? I mean, traveling to other worlds is a bit far-fetched, but it could be symbolic, like you may have traveled to a lot of different places or something. And the main character uses a weapon called the Keyblade." She said, raising three eyebrows at him. "And I do remember you attacking me with the same weapon you're describing in this story. You don't think this is more than just a coincidence, right? These are your dreams after all."

"Trust me..." Roxas said, looking her dead in the eyes. "This is not my past." It was true, after all, he didn't even have past. The person in the story was Sora, not him.

"…I see." Rachnera said, her eyes narrowing a little. "But it is pretty interesting that this character…Sora…Can use the same weapon you can."

"Yeah…That's interesting." Roxas responded simply, causing Rachnera's annoyance to rise a bit more. However, she just gave a sigh, turned back to her computer and began typing a few more things on the keyboard. "Well, anyway, I will keep editing this for now, but you should send me more chapters soon. I am interested in where this story will go, especially since you included Liminal's."

"Huh?"

"Donald and Goofy." Rachnera said. "Not many books now days have Liminal characters in them, so it's interesting to see them so involved so early in the book. Do they continue to play a role in this story?"

"Yeah…" Roxas said.

"Then keep sending me chapters. I think this story might actually be worth publishing since it could interest both the human and Liminal demographic."

"Alright…" Roxas said as he stood up and walked up next to Rachnera. He could see all the mistakes now that the Arachnera had pointed them out. This would probably take her a long time to correct.

Rachnera blinked a few times as she turned to the nobody. She noticed he was no longer tied up and that her webs were now lying on the ground, completely broken.

"How did you…"

"Huh?" Roxas asked, looking up at her.

"Never mind. You really are no fun, Roxas." The Arachnera grumbled.

* * *

There was an awkward atmosphere as Kimihito walked Pyra back to her hosts house. This was the first time that he had ever done this because it was usually Roxas that would walk her home. She didn't really know what to say because she had never been alone with the human before.

Not that she was scared or nervous, but it was still very strange.

"So…" Kimihito started. "How did you enjoy cleaning the pool a few days ago?"

"That…was a chore, let me tell you!" Pyra said, glad the silence was broken. "I can't believe Auntie Polt made me do that."

"Auntie Polt huh?"

Pyra stopped short in her tracks as she realized what she just said. It was a habit she picked up ever since she met the Kobold, so she accidently said it without thinking. She wanted to face-palm right now because of her loud mouth.

Kimihito stopped as well, looking back at the Hellhound with a soft expression. "Based on the face your making, you didn't want me to know that."

"No, I did not." Pyra growled, not angry at Kimihito, but angry at herself.

"You really don't have to worry. I did talk with Polt a little while the girls were changing at the gym. She mentioned her niece was coming to help her out with a chore." Kimihito said with a smile.

Pyra's eye twitched in annoyance. "That blabbermouth."

"Is it really such a bad thing that people know about it?" Kimihito asked curiously.

"…"

Pyra paused for a moment, wondering what she could say. She really didn't like where this conversation was heading. "It's personal."

"About your mother?"

The Hellhounds eyes widened tremendously as she looked at Kimihito's soft expression. Her eyes then turned fiery red as she stormed up to him and grasped the front of his shirt roughly. Luckily, it was a bit later in the evening, so not many people were around to witness the spectacle.

"How in the FUCK did you know that?" She seethed.

Kimihito gulped, a little intimidated by the look she was giving him.

"Did Polt talk about that as well? Well guess what? That's none of your FUCKING Business!" She said, shoving him backward.

Kimihito pursed his lips. He didn't want to through his only male ward under the bus like this, but he had no choice. "Polt didn't tell me about that…Roxas did."

Again, Pyra froze as she heard this confession. She felt pure fury course through her veins at the thought of her friends had betrayed her trust like that. It was to the point where she was nearly shaking in anger.

"I am going to fucking KILL him." Pyra roared.

"Pyra Listen…"

"NO! That was not his story to tell!" She shouted angrily. "That wasn't just something he could gossip about to people around! It was very personal to me and I trusted him. I trusted him because he was my Friend!" She could feel her teeth grinding together, hot tears nearly poking the sides of her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to Rip Roxas's throat out. In fact, her mind was starting to fill with anger and hatred, not just for Roxas, but for Humans again. No matter what, all they did was backstab and betray.

Her though process would have continued like that had she not felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the human with pure venom, but he didn't back down. In fact, his face was sympathetic.

"And that's exactly why Roxas told me about it." Kimihito said softly.

Pyra blinked a couple times, a few tears sliding down her cheeks which she quickly wiped away.

"What are you talking about?!"

"Roxas…He wanted to help you" Kimihito said.

"I didn't ask for his help!" Pyra growled. "He should have just kept his damn mouth shut!"

"I know. I did scold him about relaying someone else's personal life without their consent." Kimihito said with a small smile, though Pyra's expression didn't change. "But I also know why he did it."

"Oh Yeah! And why is that?"

"Because he knew he personally couldn't do or say anything to help you, but he thought I could." Kimihito said, resting another hand on Pyra's other shoulder.

"I told you! I didn't ask for his hel-"

"I know, but that's what friends are for Pyra." Kimihito said, causing the girl to look up at him. He gave a long sigh as he continued. "A true friend sometimes makes decisions like that. He didn't just tell me about your mother just because he wanted to gossip. He did it because he felt that was the only thing he could do for you."

Pyra was grinding her teeth still, but didn't say anything. "Okay, then why did he think this would help me? Was it to teach me that I was right about humans? That they only betray you in the end?"

"Well…Roxas isn't really a human…" Kimihito said, trying to ease the tension. However, Pyra just growled impatiently. "He was hoping that I could talk to you about it since he didn't know what to say or do. Roxas can't relate to you on the slightest level."

"And he thought you can?" Pyra challenged. "You don't know what it's like either! Since you don't understand, I will spell it out for you! I was the one that killed my mother. She died because she chose to give birth to me after being warned that it might kill her. Polt's sister would be alive if it went for me!"

Kimihito blinked a couple times when that small tidbit of information passed through Pyra's lips.

"So tell me, how could you possible relate? How can you relate to me heaving to look my aunt in the eye knowing that it was my fault someone she loved died?"

"I…Can't relate to that either." Kimihito started. "The only thing I can tell you is that Polt doesn't see it that way. Both you and I know that."

Pyra paused her rant and looked up into the eyes of the human. Her mouth was a bit dry now, trying to find a way to deny his words.

"You're right, I can't relate to what you're feeling right now. But I can say that Polt doesn't feel anything but fondness for you. She Loves you Pyra."

Pyra bit her lower lip as she broke eye contact with him. The more she stared into his eyes, the more convinced she would be about his worlds. "Yeah? And how do you know that? How do you know she's not just wearing a mask to hide her true feeling?"

Kimihito chuckled a bit. "Because she wouldn't stop talking about her favorite niece while the girls were changing. She kept talking about how wished you would come by more often…and…"

"And?"

"And that she wished you would finally move in with her." Kimihito said. "That was the plan all along, wasn't it? Since Polt has special permissions to be out on her own and to even be your host, she wanted to you live with her when they managed to get you out of hell."

"…It sounds like you did your research." Pyra growled.

"I asked Mrs. Smith about it."

"…How do you know Auntie Polt was talking about me?"

"Who else would she be talking about?" Kimihito chuckled. "You are her only niece, so of course she would want to spend time with you."

"…She said all those things?" Pyra asked, looking back up at the human.

Kimihito nodded, a smile on his face. "Pyra, your aunt doesn't see you as the one who took her sister away. She sees you as the one her sister gave her life to bring into this world. She knew that your mother loved you enough to take that risk, so do you really think she would be resentful?"

"…I would be." Pyra said quietly.

Kimihito sighed as he rested his hands on her shoulders again. "Listen, Polt doesn't hate you. She loves you as part of her family."

"Why? Why?" Pyra asked, tears threatening to leak from her eyes. "She has every right to hate me! She should hate me! I never understood why she is so nice to me whenever I see her."

Kimihito paused for a few moments as he reached up at rested a hand on the top of her head. Usually this would have resulted in Pyra punching him in the stomach or slashing at him with her claws, but her mind was much too preoccupied for that right now.

"I see now…" Kimihito said, causing the Hellhound to look up at him. "You weren't afraid that Polt hated you. You wanted her to hate you, right?"

Pyra looked back down, slowly nodding her head.

"You wanted to be punished for what happened, and Polt never showed any anger towards you, so you feel that you aren't being redeemed. And Eventually, you would earn her forgiveness after dealing with her hatred."

Again, Kimihito was hitting the nail on the head. In all honesty, it sounded kinda silly when he put it so plainly like that.

"That's…Really stupid." Kimihito said flatly.

Pyra's eyes narrowed as she pushed away from the human, batting his arm away with her fists.

"Why!?"

"Because there was nothing to forgive." Kimihito responded. "Polt knows that. The only one that haven't forgiven you is yourself. That is the only thing that's holding onto your guilt."

Again, the fire in Pyra's eyes died down a bit as she swallowed. Tears were now leaking down her face as she clenched her paws. There was nothing that Kimihito said that was untrue. For a long time, she knew that Polt didn't hold any animosity toward her, but that's what made things the most difficult. She wanted her aunt to hate her as repayment for taking the life of her sister.

"Pyra…" Kimihito said, moving forward and once again resting his hands on her shoulder. "You really need to know that you didn't do anything wrong by just existing. And Polt's sister didn't do anything wrong by having you. It wasn't anyone's fault. Things like this sometimes just…happen."

Pyra sniffed as she clenched her eyes closed. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Learn from this." Kimihito said. "What your feeling right now, grow from it and let it make you stronger as a person. Let it build you up, not tear you down. And maybe one day, when someone else is going through something similar, you might be able to help them."

Pyra gave a watery smile, still not looking up at the human. "Where did you get that quote? A cereal box…or a fortune cookie?"

"Hey! I'll have you know that those boxes give really good ad-" Kimihito started before he felt two arms constrict around his back and a face planted in his chest. The human paused for a few seconds in shock. Pyra had NEVER hugged him before. She would usually just resort to playful…and painful jabs or something similar, but this was new for the usually prideful Liminal.

However, he slowly rested one of his hands on her back while the other laid on the top of her head, gently stroking her hair.

"You know bro, I think I can see…what those girls see in you." Pyra murmured into his chest before she pulled back. "But don't get the wrong idea, I am way too young for you."

"The though never even crossed my mind." Kimihito said, his face blushing in embarrassment. "It's not like you have a thing for Roxas though." He said with a coy look on his face.

"Speaking of which, I still need to kick his ass." Pyra growled.

"…I feel sorry for him." Kimihito joked, causing Pyra to laugh as well. However, she then reached up and grasped the collar of his shirt before bringing him eye level.

"You tell anyone that I cried, and I will personally make sure your soul is nice and tortured when it enters hell." She threatened.

"…didn't you cry when Roxas returned."

That was the wrong words to say as Pyra's claws were suddenly centimeters in front of Kimihito's eyes.

"R-Right…Nothing H-Happened." Kimihito said, his face turning ghostly pale.

"Good boy." Pyra said as she released the human. "Now get out of here. You already gave me a lot to think about and I don't need you pestering me anymore."

Kimihito laughed as he turned away from her.

"Bro…"

The human turned to look over his shoulder at the hellhound, his eyes whitening to see the look on her face. It was a smile, one that looked like it was from the heart. Not just some smirk that usually dotted her face, but an actual smile.

"Thank you."

Again, Kimihito smile at the adolescent hellhound. "Anytime. If you ever want to talk-"

"I'll keep that in mind, but don't expect me to come in for another therapist session anytime soon." She said as she made a shooing motion with her hand. The Hellhound watched as Kimihito turned and left her standing in front of her hoists house. His worlds resonating through her mind like a chime.

* * *

Roxas was typing away at his keyboard with Suu in his lap again. They were just finishing up a few touches on one of the chapters before getting to bed. Soon though, they were done and ready to go to sleep. Suu was in her usual pool while Roxas was laying on his back, staring up at the celling.

Kimihito had returned about a couple hours ago. When Roxas asked how it went, the human just gave a smile and told him he would have to wait and find out as part of the punishment for blabbing Pyra's personal life without her consent.

Based on that little tidbit of information, Roxas knew he was in for a rude awakening when he saw the hellhound next. But honestly, he couldn't think of any other way to help her. Kimihito seemed to know all the answers, so he thought that maybe the human could talk to her. Roxas cared for Pyra, but knew that nothing he could say would help.

The nobody's thoughts were interrupted when his phone suddenly vibrated. He arched an eyebrow before reaching over and grabbed it, bringing it over to his face and turning it on. Instantly, his face turned white when he saw it was from the very person he was thinking about.

 _"_ _Asshole! You better get your fucking ass over here right Fucking NOW!"_

"…Shit." Roxas murmured, causing Suu to look up at him from her pool. He reached down and patted the slimes head before throwing his legs over the side of the bed. "Suu, if I don't come back alive, finish my book for me."

"Suu?" Suu murmured in confusion as she watched Roxas move to his closet and pull out his Organization 13 coat before putting it on. With a flick of the wrist, he was gone in the Corridor of darkness.

* * *

Roxas legitimately felt his heart thumping against his chest when he exited the Corridor of Darkness just a block away from Pyra's house. Based on what Kimihito had told him the other day about sharing someone's personal life without there consent, he could understand if Pyra was less than happy with him. And based of the text from her, she was not happy at all.

Still, Roxas moved toward the house, his mind racing as to what she would say to him, or do to him because he told Kimihito. It was just a few feet more that he felt his heart sink into his stomach.

Pyra was standing in front of her house with her arms folded. If looks could kill, then the nobody was a dead shell walking. The Hellhound's red eyes were narrowed and her food was tapping impatiently while watching him slowly draw closer.

From what seemed to be an eternity, Roxas was finally standing on front of her. Neither he nor Pyra said a world as they continued to stare into each other eyes. Just from the look she was giving him, Roxas could tell she was completely pissed off. He had seen her mad before, but this was somehow even worst. It wasn't just anger that she was feeling, it was also hurt and betrayal in those eyes.

Not able to take it anymore, Roxas diverted his eyes. He didn't know what to say to her. He didn't know how much it would hurt her feeling when he talked about her personal life. But after Kimihito explained it to him, it made the nobody feels extremely bad.

A paw on his shoulder caused the nobody to look over at the hellhound. He blinked a couple times when he realized her eyes were closed and a large and pleasant smile was plastered on her lips. It was the most confusing thing because just a second ago, she was completely furious with h-

 _WHAM_

Instantly, all the air was knocked out of Roxas's lungs as Pyra slammed her knee into his stomach. Again, the action took him by surprise, so he didn't tighten his stomach at all.

It was effective.

Roxas doubled over and clutched his stomach, wheezing a bit. He didn't even have time to get his air back as a furry fist rammed itself into his jaw, sending the Nobody sprawling backwards into the street.

Laying there on his back, Roxas's eyes were spinning, his jaw was sore, and his lungs lacked a sufficient amount of oxygen. Of course, this wasn't anything compared to spares with people like Saix, but it didn't mean this didn't hurt. Hellhounds were much stronger than normal people.

Once again, the air rushed out of Roxas's lungs as Pyra's entire body landed on his stomach. He felt one of her hands grasp his coat collar before pulling him up closer toward her. He barely made out her fist before it slammed into his jaw again, splitting his lip and causing blood to splatter the side of the road.

"…Ouch." Roxas murmured.

"Ouch? That's all you have to say?" Pyra growled.

Roxas turned his head to look her in the eyes. They were narrowed once again, her hand cocked back and ready to take another swing.

"What…do you want me to say?" Roxas asked, genuinely curious.

"I didn't want you to say anything Roxas! I trusted you with something personal, and the first thing you did was tell someone else!" She seethed.

"…I'm sorry. I didn't kn-"

 _WHAM_

Roxas's head was thrown to the side as Pyra's fist connected with it again. More blood ran down his chin.

"You didn't know? What the hell kind of excuse is that!? You don't just go around blabbing about other people's lives!"

"I know that now…but I…" Roxas said, his head slowly turning to meet Pyra's angry gaze again. "What I meant was that I didn't know…didn't know how I could help you."

Pyra blinked a few times as she looked down at the nobody beneath her. Her fist lowered slightly. "I didn't ask for your help Roxas. I already told Bro that."

"I…I know but…I still wanted to do something." Roxas said. He was having a really hard time trying to explain his actions.

"Why?"

"Because…I could see that it was bothering you. The way you talked about your mother, and how you felt it was your fault she died, I could see how much it bothered you."

"So, you decided to blab? How would that make anything better?"

"…Was Kimihito not able to help?" Roxas asked, his gaze dipping a little.

"…"

Pyra was quiet for the longest time. She lowered her fist, but kept a firm grasp on the collar of his coat.

"I…I just thought he might be able to talk to you. Every time I had a question, I could go to him. Every time I didn't understand something, he would help me." Roxas said, as he looked up at her again. "I don't understand anything Pyra. I can't understand your feelings. I don't know what you're going through, so how can I say anything that might help? The only thing I could think of was to talk to Kimihito because he's always been there for me…and I thought he could be there for you too..." Roxas finished, biting his lower lip as he averted his gaze again. He really didn't like the feeling of guilt welling up inside of him.

Pyra still didn't say a word as she watched Roxas attempt to explain his actions. She understood what he was saying because she had been around this boy every day for the better part of a month. She noticed certain things about the boy that were odd. How did didn't have any common sense what-so-ever, nor how he didn't understand the slightest concepts when it came to things like relationships. It was almost as if the only experience he had was with her and Yukiko.

Giving a sigh, Pyra's grip slowly loosened from his cooler. "So, you were just worried about me, huh?"

Slowly, Roxas nodded. "I…don't like it when my friends are sad. I just…had to do something…" Roxas whispered.

Again, The Hellhound let out a long breath. To be honest, her anger died out a long time ago. She just wanted to hear what Roxas had to say for himself…that and she wanted to clock him a couple times. But more than that...

She wanted to hear that he was worried.

"You know what, Bro did talk to me…" She said, releasing his coat.

Roxas looked up at her, his face somewhat hopeful.

"We talked for a while and I was…able to get some stuff off my chest." She said as she folded her arms. "You were right, bro really knew what I needed to hear."

"He…Helped you?" Roxas asked.

Pyra closed her eyes and pursed her lips. "He has a way with words, but if he didn't talk to me, then I wouldn't have reached the decision I came to."

"Decision?" Roxas asked.

"Yep. I think it's time I face my fears and start building a relationship with my auntie. I still feel guilty, but I know avoiding her won't fix anything." Pyra said, a small smile on her lips. "Maybe I will get over my guilt through time."

Roxas swallowed as he pushed himself to his elbows. His jaw was still acing and the blood was leaking down his lip still, but he ignored it. "So…Do you forgive me?"

Pyra looked down at the nobody, noticing the trail of blood on his chin. Instantly, she swallowed and her breathing became a bit more labored. A large smile crossed her lips as she placed a paw on his chest.

"Nope."

The hellhound shoved Roxas back down before licking her lips. "You have to do a couple things for me before you earn my forgiveness."

"…What do you want?"

"The first is simple, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to." Pyra said, her grin taking a more sinister look.

Roxas didn't know what to think, but he knew that look on her face was anything but trouble. Still though, he didn't want to lose his friendship with her, so he obliged.

When Pyra saw that the nobody's eyes were closed, her sinister grin slowly vanished into a look that was uncharacteristically soft for the hellhound. She continued to look down at the boy, resting both paws on his toned chest.

She really had mixed feeling about this boy. On one hand, he had blabbed about her personal life without her consent, but on the other hand, he didn't do it just for the gossip. He did it because he cared about her. He sincerely thought that Kimihito would be able to help her, and he was right. No one, not even her own father cared that much about her. But this one boy had acted and tried his best because he wanted to her be happy.

That was enough to earn her forgiveness.

Slowly, Pyra lowered herself to Roxas's face before she sensually licked along the trail of blood on his chin. She smirked as she felt the boy Stiffen under her body, but she continued trailing up until she reached his mouth. She intended for it to stop there, but right when she tasted his lips, something else took over. Something much more primal.

Without warning she grasped the sides of Roxas's head and locked lips with the boy, inserting her tongue into his mouth and savoring the taste of blood and saliva.

Roxas still had his eyes closed, but the second he felt Pyra's tongue in his mouth, his mind went completely blank. His heart hammered against his chest and his body felt as if it were on fire. He really wanted to open his eyes and ask Pyra what the hell she was doing? But he continued to keep them closed as her per instruction. Still though, this sensation was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Pyra was also lost in the moment. Though she was taught in the ways of seduction from an early age, this was the first time she had shared a kiss with someone. Her tongue continued to explore the inside of his mouth for a few more moments before she pulled away. Instantly she wanted to go down for another round, but she stopped herself when a particular thought crossed her mind. Slowly, she glanced up at the sky.

The moon was nearly full.

"This is your fault, isn't it? Your fault that I'm an emotional wreck right now." Pyra whispered, gazing up at the moon. It would take a couple more days before it was completely full, but she was already starting to feel the effects of it. That was one thing she couldn't stand about the human world. The Full moon had a bad impact on almost all Liminal, making them much more emotional.

She was no different. It was probably the reason why she was so emotional around Kimihito as well, doing and saying things she never would have on any other day.

But on the other hand, she was a little grateful for it because she didn't think she would have opened up if not for the moon.

Looking down at Roxas, she almost laughed at how beat red his face was. He might not know anything about sex or romance, but that didn't mean his body lacked any hormones. His eyes were still clenched shut, but his mouth was still open in shock and his body was stiff as a board.

"Alright, you can open them now." Pyra said.

Roxas's eyes shot open, but they were swirling around in a daze. "W-W-What…What was-" Roxas shuddered before a clawed finger rested on his lips.

"I was just healing the wound on your lip. I told bro that I would go easy on you, so I don't think I should leave any evidence." She said slyly.

"I-I-I see…." Roxas murmured, trying to gain control over his body again.

"Now, you have to do one more thing before I forgive you." Pyra said, standing up and reaching down to Roxas.

"W-What?" Roxas asked, slowly reaching up and grasping the Hellhounds paw, allowing her to hoist him up.

"You get to help me move."

* * *

Apparently, Pyra had already called Polt and announced she was going to move in. The Kobold couldn't have been happier, and that was extremely evident when she tacked Pyra to the ground when they came into view of Polt's house.

Luckily, Polt didn't live very far from her Sports club, but the house she did own was enormous. The Kobold was waiting in front of the door and leaped at Pyra right when she saw the both of them.

"Auntie! Get off me!"

"NO! I was waiting for this moment for so long!" Polt cried out in happiness. "My cute niece has finally decided to move in with me!"

"If you keep this up, I might just change my mind." Pyra growled.

Roxas walked past them and placed some of Pyra's things inside the house while they were busy. His mind was still preoccupied with the intense emotions he experienced earlier. How in the world had Pyra managed to invoke feeling that strong within him? How was that possible for a nobody like him? Nobodies were not supposed to feel anything, but he could say without a doubt that it was false. But this was something completely different. He didn't think that it was possible for feeling to be this powerful.

It was…almost frightening.

His though process was interrupted when he felt two furry arms wrap around his neck from behind.

"And you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For convincing Pyra to move in!" The Kobold said, swinging Roxas around like a rag doll.

"Well…It wasn't really me…Kimihito…"

"I know what he did, but you were the one who acted first." Polt exclaimed as her gaze softened a bit. "She really is lucky to have friends like you and Yukiko."

"Alright auntie, that is enough!" Pyra said, ripping Roxas out of the Kobolds grip. "We still have a couple things we need to get from my previous hosts house. You know, the jackass?"

"Out of all the places…" Polt said, her eyebrow raised.

"I didn't have any other choice." Pyra augured.

"Sure you did! You could have saved us all the trouble and moved in with me!"

"..."

Pyra didn't answer that question as she turned away from the Kobold. "c'mon Roxas, we have some more stuff to move."

"Did you at least let them know you were leaving?" Polt asked.

"Nope!" Pyra said with a grin. "And I made sure to have Smith add them to the blacklist. They won't be taking care of any more Liminal in the future."

"Atta girl." Polt said with a smile.

* * *

It was a couple hours later that Roxas and Pyra were finished moving the rest of her stuff to Plots house. The Kobold helped as well, but she spent the evening preparing Pyra's room. That resulted in Pyra and Roxas standing alone just outside the house.

"Well, that's the last of it, right?" Roxas asked.

"Yep, that's it." Pyra responded. "You are officially forgiven now…but…" She said as she grasped Roxas's coat again. "You blab about my personal life again, and I will personally gut you alive and hang you by your intestines, you understand me?"

Roxas swallowed as he nodded his head.

"Good…" Pyra finished before she suddenly moved forward and wrapped her arms around the nobody's neck. "Thank you…"

Roxas blinked a few times before he wrapped his arms around her back. He wasn't really used to hugging Pyra because she wasn't nearly as touchy as Yukiko.

 _CLICK_

Instantly, Pyra jerked away from Roxas and looked over at the house entrance. Polt was standing there with a shit eating grin on her face and a camera in her hand. "OH! This is going straight in the album. I'll call it 'Pyra's first crush'

"Auntie…" Pols seethed, her bangs overshadowing her eyes while and ominous feeling saturated the air. "You give me that camera…right now!"

Polt stuck out her tongue before dashing into the house.

"Get back here!" Pyra shouted as she ran in after her aunt, slamming the door behind her.

Roxas stood there alone now, a smile creaking along his face. He was happy that Pyra finally had a better place to stay now. And it would see that she would be just fine here.

With that thought, the nobody turned and walked home.

"Now we just have to find a better place for Yukiko."

* * *

Pyra was laying on her new bed. She failed to catch Polt in the massive house, so just decided to let her aunty escape for now. But as the hellhound lay there, she though back on the kiss she shared with Roxas. Slowly, she reached up and touched her own lips. She never intended for it to go that far, but she just couldn't control herself. The nearly full moon didn't help either.

But despite all that, it was…nice. She actually found herself enjoying the moment. Not just because the nearly full moon was amplifying her feeling, but she occasionally had fleeting thoughts about doing such things with Roxas.

However, she also felt guilty about it as well, because she knew she wasn't the only one that had a thing for the nobody.

"Sorry…Yukiko." She murmured into the darkness.

* * *

 **Authors note: Whelp, here is another chapter. Now a few of you might think that Pyra was a little out of character, but the full moon in close, and she was being affected by it. A small little conflict was resolved thanks to Kimihito's ability to say the right things at the right time. Roxas has very little experience, so he does not have the ability to understand or say anything that might make a difference. That's why it was Kimihito who talked to Pyra, and not Roxas.**

 **Also, Pyra stole Roxas's first kiss. Oops. Damn that nearly full moon and how it affects Liminals.**

 **Thanks for reading. If you want more, please leave a review. I really appreciate it.**

 **Until Then!**


	17. Chapter 17 : Day 39

**Authors Note: Thanks for the support on the last chapter. I'm glad that you liked it and I appreciate the people who were thoughtful enough to leave a review. That is basically the only way we get any feedback on our work. It really makes a huge difference because Fanfiction Authors do this in their free time. So, thank you for that.**

 **Now, I started a new story, but I didn't want to drop this one. I think I am going publish two or three chapters of my new story and then one chapter of this one. That way I have a nice balance of lightheartedness and seriousness in each kind of story and I won't get burnt out. If you have not read my first three chapter of the new story, please check it out. I think you guys are going to like it if you enjoy the stories I write.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 17

Day 39

Roxas instantly knew that something was wrong when a loud commotion seemed to echo through the entire house. The floor rattled with activity and various voices could be heard through the walls. It was a tad unusual because the morning was still early and everyone was supposed to be asleep. Sadly, that was not the case today…for some reason.

"DARLING! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"

Roxas grumbled as his eyes slowly opened. He turned over on his bed and tried closing his eyes again in an attempt to fall back into peaceful slumber.

"HUBBY! HAVE PAPI'S EGGS!

Taking his pillow, the nobody tried to drown out the sound by pressing it over his head and ears.

 _RRIIIINNNGGG_

The alarm on Roxas's phone suddenly blared loudly, adding to the already noisy morning and nearly making the nobody jump out of his bed in surprise. He clenched his eyes shut before slowly reaching for the phone and turning off the alarm.

"If it's not one thing, it's another…. What is going on out there?" Roxas mumbled to himself as he sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"I need to go shopping Miia, I promise I will be back soon. Papi, stay here with-"

"If that be the case, I will assist you master! You could ride upon my back if you so desire." Centorea's voice boomed through the house.

"No! Papi will go with Hubby! Because Hubby will marry Papi and we will play every day."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Roxas shook his head to clear the cobwebs away as he turned towards the door. "Why are they up so early? They never get up this early."

His reply was more loud bickering through the door. Whatever had them riled up, it was becoming apparent that this was going to be a difficult day for Kimihito.

Glancing down at the pool next to his bed, Roxas noticed that Suu wasn't there. She would usually leave right before he got up to rehydrate herself because that would allow her to accompany him when meeting up with Kii.

Speaking of which, he needed to get ready because the Dryad didn't like it when he was late. Especially when there was work to be done.

The door to Roxas's room suddenly flung open before someone darted in and then slammed it shut. The person who just entered his room had her back pressed against the door and a concerned/panicked look on her face.

"…What's up Xion?"

"I don't know. Everyone is acting…strange." She said, pushing off against the door. "They were chasing Kimihito around the house. Are they…trying to attack him?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "…No, why would they?"

"It just looked like…they were about to…do something to him. The look in their eye was…scary." Xion summarized. "I was almost trampled while walking past them."

Roxas thought about it for a few moments. This situation seemed really familiar for some reason. In fact, it was around the first couple of days when he arrived at the household that they were acting similar to how Xion was describing.

"Do you think Kimihito will be ok?" Xion asked with a touch of worry.

"…I hope so…But we could check to see if he's alright." Roxas responded, scratching his chin. "This…seems familiar though. They acted a bit like this when I first came here."

"They did? What caused it?" Xion asked, waking into the room and sitting on the edge or Roxas's bed.

"…I don't remember. It was a while ago, back when I was still trying to adapt to this life." The nobody responded. "Speaking of which, how are you adapting?"

Xion paused for a few moments as she intertwined her fingers in her lap. "It's been…different. At first, it was difficult to get use to because all I ever knew was Organization 13." She said as she glanced over at Roxas. "And you know how they were."

"I remember what that was like." Roxas confirmed. "It was like living with a bunch of soulless husks."

"That's kinda what Nobodies are…" Xion continued. "But the more I interact with everyone, the more I find it hard to not…smile." She finished, the faintest of smiles on her face.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Roxas agreed. "It was really weird at first because I wasn't use to how everyone acted. But now, I don't think I would ever go back to the organization, even if their goal was to make us whole."

"Right…" Xion said, her face giving a thoughtful expression.

 _CRASH!_

 _DARLING!_

 _HUBBYY!_

Xion and Roxas turned toward the door with deadpanned expressions.

"I guess we should see if he's alright…." Roxas said, standing from the bed.

"Yeah, We should."

Roxas quickly changed before he and Xion walked out the door. Loud commotion was echoing through the house, originating downstairs in the kitchen. They only made it a couple steps before they saw the top feeler of a familiar blue slime as she walked up the stairs. Right when she saw the two, her eyes widened gleefully before she launched herself at them.

Xion and Roxas felt her blue arms circle around them as Suu gave both a nice morning squeeze. The slime had really improved on upholding her form every day. She rarely wore the rain jacket around the house anymore because she didn't get anything wet or damp when she touched it. Even as she hugged Roxas and Xion, they were still perfectly dry.

"Morning Roxas, Xion" Suu said happily.

"Morning." Roxas responded, reaching up and patting the slime on the head like he usually did. "Are you all hydrated?"

Suu frantically nodded her head. "Suu is Hydrated." She said as she cocked her head to the side cutely. "Can Suu come with Roxas and X-Xion today?"

Roxas glanced over at Xion, who only smiled and nodded her head. He smiled down at the slime. "Of course, you can."

"YAY~" Suu cheered as she squeezed them tighter.

Glancing over at Xion, Roxas could again see the smile on her face as she happily patted Suu's head. She was completely right, it was very hard not to smile in his house.

* * *

It was much later that Roxas and Xion were walking down the road on the way to school. For some reason, both were a little quite because they were thinking about the strange occurrences that were happening today.

"…I know that I haven't known Kii as long as you have, but…does she do that often?" Xion asked.

"Never…" Roxas said, thinking back to the extremely awkward training session with the Dryad. When they met up with her that morning, her body once again went through a couple changes. Each time they helped her in cleaning the forest, the next day the Dryad would grow and mature. The first time Roxas met Kii, she was actually shorter than him. Now, she was a few inches taller. Not only that, but her body would become more and more developed.

That was a regular occurrence, but her strange actions were most noticeable today. Even meeting up with her, they knew something was a bit off. For starter, she wouldn't look any of them in the eye and her face had a constant blush on it for some reason. Not only that, she was much quieter than she usually was, and that was saying something. She would occasionally sneak glances at Roxas every few moments while cleaning and during their sparring session.

But the weirdest part was when they finished cleaning for the day and started the spar. The Dryad was much more…Kind this time around. She didn't throw them around much with her vines, nor try to crush them with a giant tree. The only thing she would do was tie them up, which she seemed to take great pleasure in doing. And on more than one occasion, she "accidently" tied Roxas to herself and held him close, nearly suffocating the poor nobody with her developing breasts.

Thank God Suu was there because she was able to free Roxas by tying the Dryad up with her own slime. For some reason, Kii seemed to enjoy that as well…in a really weird way.

Even when they tried to leave, she tied them up once again and mumbled a few things about not wanting them to go quite yet. It was probably the strangest thing they had ever seen the Dryad do considering her distant personality. Fortunately, Suu saved the day and they managed to escape, even with Kii's vines chasing them.

"I've never seen her like that before." Roxas concluded.

"…Did you notice that everyone is acting a little strange today?" Xion asked.

"Oh yeah…" Roxas said, remembering when they finally got home. They walked in to see Kimihito being nearly torn in half by Centorea, Miia, and Papi. Mero was going off her usual tragedy tangent, this one about Kimihito being killed and them being declared murderers and sentenced to life in prison somewhere.

Surprisingly, Rachnera was simply watching like it was some kind of TV show. She munched on a few pieces of Bacon as the girls kept fighting over the one human. If not for Roxas, Xion, and Suu helping the poor guy out, he might have been torn to shreds.

"Something weird is going on." Roxas said as he glanced over at Xion. "But how there acting is not the only thing surprising today."

Xion quieted down a little as she rubbed her hands together. She looked a little nervous and a bit unsure, but she slowly raised her hand. In a flash of light, a Keyblade Identical to Roxas's appeared in her hand.

"I know…" She said, gazing upon the weapon. "I…didn't expect this to happen. I Didn't think I would be able to use the Keyblade." She finished, letting the weapon disappear in her grasp.

* * *

 _Flashback_

Roxas leaped backwards, avoiding another stream of vines from the Dryad. He learned the hard way that Kii was acting really weird today and getting caught in her vines was not the best idea. Seeing how…touchy she was being, it was best to keep his distance.

The vines slammed into the ground, ricocheting off the dirt and heading right back in Roxas's direction as he was suspended in the air.

"Fire!" Xion cried, a small fireball ejecting from her hands and incinerating the vines before they caught Roxas. She then aimed her hand at Kii. "Blizzard!" Ice erupted for her hand, shooting right at the Dryad, who erected a small tree to shield herself.

The ice impacted the tree, causing ice crystals to burst from the impact point. Xion was about to cast another spell when she felt something wrap around her ankle. She only had time to look down and realize that one of Kii's vines had snagged her before her body was lifted into the air and thrown like a ragdoll.

Xion flipped through the air and landed awkwardly, causing her to stumble a little.

"Always be aware of your surroundings." Kii's voice echoed.

The puppet heard the sound of something cutting through the air. She turned around to see a large piece of wood flying at her. It was less than a foot away, meaning that she didn't have time to summon her magic and preform a spell.

She didn't know why or how, but her instincts took over. Without thinking, she drew her arm to the side as if she was holding something in her hand. With one quick motion, the girl let out a battle cry and swung with all her might.

Roxas and Kiis's eyes widened when a flash of light briefly illuminated the area and the piece of wood shattered into splinters as a metal item made contact with it. Then, grasped in her hand, was a very familiar key-shaped weapon with a golden hilt.

Kii and Roxas glanced at each other for a brief moment in confusion. Xion seemed just as confuzzled because she looked down at the weapon in wonder.

"What…What's going on?" she asked. The same question was also on Roxas's and Kii's mind.

 _Flashback End_

* * *

"…I think I might have an idea." Roxas said, causing Xion to look over at him. She didn't ask, just waited for an explanation. "Well, when I overheard Xemnas and Xigbar, they mentioned you."

"They did? What did they say?" She asked, clearly curious.

"They mentioned that they had Vexen create you so you could copy my ability to use the Keyblade."

"…"

Xion looked away from the nobody, silenced by this new and sudden revelation. She already knew that she was a puppet because members of Organization 13 took great pleasure in reminding her. But she never really knew why she was created. She didn't know what purpose the Organization had for her.

But now she did.

"So…The only reason I was created was so I could copy your ability? Why?" She asked quietly.

Roxas paused again. He remembered clearly what Xemnas and Xigbar said. They said they wanted Xion to not only copy his ability, but to completely absorbed him as well. While he didn't know quite what that meant, it sounded like something really bad.

"…They said something about having complete control over the Keyblade so they could collect hearts." Roxas said, decided to keep the whole "absorbing thing" to himself for now. After all, he didn't really know what they meant when they mentioned that.

"So…that really was my only purpose." Xion responded as she stopped walking. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Roxas stopped as well and glanced back at her. He could see by the look on her face that she was visibly upset. He had seen this kind of look before from both Pyra and Yukiko, so he was getting better at reading the signs. Her head was slightly dipped and she was biting her lower lip.

"My only reason to exist was to be there puppet? To not have a will of my own and collect hearts for whatever they were doing? Is that my purpose?"

Again, Roxas could tell she was very upset about his. Her hands were clenched and her eyes shined with unshed tears. It…actually surprised him quite a bit to see them start dripping down her cheek.

"Xion…What's wrong?" He asked, approaching her. "You're crying."

"Ah…" Xion paused, reaching up and feeling the tears on her cheek. She blinked a few times in confusion as she gazed at the moisture on her fingers. "You're right…I'm crying." She said, her voice one of wonder. "I…I Didn't think it was possible…how?"

"Because…you're sad." Roxas said, remembering how he felt back when he returned from his excursion to the world that never was. He remembered how worried Yukiko, Pyra, Kimihito, and everyone else was about his disappearance. Most of all, he remembered how it made him feel.

He remembered crying with them.

Xion was looking at him again, expecting him to say a little more in order to help her understand. But honestly, he didn't know what he could say to help her understand. Heck, he could hardly understand it himself.

"Well, collecting hearts and copying my ability might have been your only purpose back in Organization 13…" Roxas started, causing the girl to slowly look down at her feet as if his words confirmed her thoughts. "But, you don't belong to Organization 13 anymore. None of us do."

Looking back up at him, Xion still didn't respond but was interested in what he had to say.

"We left the Organization. You, Axel, and me. We left because we didn't believe in what they were doing. We learned that what they taught us was wrong." Roxas continued. "We left so we could create our own purpose instead of being used by them."

Xion stared at Roxas as she reached up at wiped the tears off her face. "Roxas…" She started. "Have…you been able to find a purpose?"

"…"

Her question stumped him. In all honesty, he hadn't really thought about it that much. He was just taking existence one day at a time. As for what he wanted to do with that existence, he didn't quite know.

Slowly, Roxas shook his head. "I haven't yet, but…" he said, staring her straight in the eye. "when I do, it will be because I found it and not because someone forced it upon me." He gave a sigh as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Who knows, maybe we can find purpose together, as people who were never supposed to exist."

Xion paused for a while as she pondered his words. Slowly, a delicate smile creeped along her lips as she nodded. "I guess you're right. Thanks…Roxas."

Roxas smiled back as he and Xion began walking down the road again. "In the meantime, we should practice with the Keyblade together. We never know when the heartless will show up again."

"Yeah, we really should." She responded, a small blush dotting her cheeks. "I hope they never do though."

"Me too."

* * *

"Bout time you guys got here!"

Roxas and Xion spotted Pyra standing in front of her Aunt's house. It had been a couple days since she moved in and things have been improving quite a bit for the Hellhound. Pyra seemed like she was much happier then when she was living with her old host. It was interesting too because they would occasionally go to her house instead of Kimihito's when Polt invited them for dinner. Papi wasn't too happy about that because it meant she had less playmates for the evening.

"Lil' Pyra! Don't forget your lunch! You need to eat three well rounded meals to stay healthy!"

Roxas and Xion watched in amusement as Polt appeared at the door and threw her arms around Pyra's shoulders, a bento box in her paw. The energetic Kobold was very welcoming and would usually interrupt them with healthy snacks and exercise tips when they were either studying or hanging out. She would also take a few moments to molest Roxas and Xion. In fact, almost every time the nobody and the puppet saw Polt, they found themselves on the other side of her full-body inspection.

Today was no different.

"It still amazes me at how good both your physics are!" Polt exclaimed, simultaneously feeling Roxas's and Xion's shoulders, chest, and stomach.

Roxas blinked a few times because he didn't even see the Kobold move. One second she was hanging around Pyra, and then next she was in front of him and Xion, per paw literally under there shirt, feeling there toned abdominals. It was still really strange when she did this, but he was slowly getting used to it. But it was still annoying when she untucked his shirt like that.

Xion had a much harder time adapting because her face was turning a dark shade of red after having her chest grouped. Even though she was more petite, it was still embarrassing to have Polt give her a physical in the middle of the street.

"Auntie! Knock it off!" Pyra growled loudly.

"But it feels so good!" Polt responded, her face getting a little red.

"Do you have to do this every time?"

"Of course I do! How can I resist such a perfect pair of specimens?" Polt said gleefully. "Besides, you don't mind, right Roxas? Xion!?"

Roxas simply shook his head and stepped away from her while Xion did the same. Xion retreated behind Pyra for safety. Even for her usual antics, the Kobold was acting stranger than usual.

"We have to get going or we'll be late for school." Roxas said. He noticed that Polt's ears drooped a little at his declaration, meaning that she was disappointed. Without thinking, he reached up to pat her head, thinking it would cheer her up.

Seeing this, Pyra's eyes widened in horror. "Roxas! DON'T!"

It was too late. The instant his palm grazed the top of Polt's head, an expression came over her face that was a cross between total bliss and unrestrained desire.

Pyra leapt into action, trying to tackle her aunt to the ground, but Polt quickly maneuvered around her and threw her arms around Roxas's neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. She had the biggest smile on her face as she rubbed her chin on the top of his head, her tail wagging like a propeller.

Both Xion's and Pyra's eyes widened as they watched the Kobold manhandle the poor boy. His arms were flailing while desperately trying to pull back, but his face was firmly trapped between a pair of furry breasts.

"Auntie! What the fuck!" Pyra shouted, reaching over and grabbing the Kobold in an attempt to throw her off. "Xion, give me a hand!"

Xion nodded quickly before they both grabbed ahold of Polt and tried to pry her off. It took a few seconds, but they finally managed to unwrap her arms and peel her torso away from his. She was trying desperately to get ahold o him again, but they held her back.

Now that he was able to breathe, Roxas reached down and worked to unfix Polt's legs from around his waist. It was like trying to rip of Velcro, but he managed to untangle her and jump away, his face bright red and full of confusion and fear.

"Bad Polt! Go back in the house!" Pyra scolded, flicking the Kobolds ear.

Immediately, Polt flinched and her ears flattened against her head as she looked up at Pyra with her big puppy eyes. "I-I didn't mean to."

Had it been any other person, they might have caved by the sheer adorableness of Polt's gaze, but Pyra was still glaring at her. "No, you do not sexually assault any of my friends, understand!?"

"But I was just giving him a little hug!" Polt said, an innocent smile on her face. "You don't have to be Jealous though, you're still my favorite."

Pyra was grinding her teeth in annoyance.

"Here, I'll show you." Polt said as she threw her arms open wide. "Let me give you a hug!"

With great nimbleness, Pyra ducked under Polt, causing the Kobold to fly over her and land in a heap on the ground. "Not this time Auntie. Go back inside and cool off. You have to open the Gym in an hour, right?"

"Oh! You're so right! I have to get ready." Polt said as she suddenly shot back into the house without a second thought.

Pyra shook her head. "That Kobold really needs a man in her life." She murdered to herself as she turned to her two friends. They were both staring at her with completely bewildered expressions.

"What-what was that about?" Roxas asked.

Pyra shuffled a little when she felt his gaze land on her. The memory of their first kiss was fresh in her mind and she felt her eyes drawn towards his lips, causing her to lick her own slightly.

"Pyra?"

Pyra blinked as she cracked her neck, trying to play off that she was staring. "Oh, don't worry about her. The day of the full moon just has her frazzled."

"Full moon?" Xion asked.

"Oh yeah!" Roxas said. "I remember what happened last time there was a full moon. All the girls in Kimihito's house went completely nuts."

"They did?" Xion asked, her eyebrows rising into her hairline.

"Well, it doesn't surprise me. The full moon affects most Liminals, making them much more passionate." Pyra explained as they started walking in the direction of Yukiko's apartment complex. "Just a word of caution, do not…and I mean absolutely do NOT pet my aunt on the day of the full moon. Since she doesn't have a boyfriend, she reacts to the smallest things today."

"…Noted…I didn't think that would happen. She never did something like that in the past."

"So, the full moon is why everyone is acting so strange today." Xion summarized.

"Yep, so be prepared for an interesting day of school. The day is not as bad as the night during the full moon, but the day does get really interesting too." Pyra said, a grin forming on her face.

"Does it not affect you?" Roxas asked.

"Who, me?" Pyra scoffed. "Please, as if a full moon would cause me to lose control." She said as she increased her pace a bit. Truthfully, that statement was more to convince herself than it was Roxas and Xion. Currently, she was clenching and unclenching her paws and biting her lower lip in an attempt to control herself.

The walk to Yukiko's apartment was a more awkward than usual. Pyra was a bit fidgety and always kept a few feet in front of them. Any question asked was met with short and to the point answers, leaving no room for conversation. Sure, she was never really talkative, but she did pitch her two cents in their conversations, but today was much worse.

Just before they reached Yukiko's apartment, Xion leaned over to Roxas. "I think the full moon is affecting her." She whispered.

"Yeah, I think so too." Roxas whispered back.

"You know I can hear you perfectly, right?" Pyra growled, her eyebrow twitching.

Roxas and Xion straightened up, completely forgetting about Pyra's superb sense of hearing. However, the conversation ended there as they approached Yukiko's door. Roxas walked forward and was about to knock when the door suddenly opened with a bang. Just like with Polt, the poor nobody found himself in nearly the exact same position with arms constricted around the back of his head and a soft body completely flush with his.

The only difference was that Yukiko's grip was much more powerful that Polt's. The legs around his midsection almost felt as if they were breaking his ribs while the back of his neck ached from also being constricted.

"Ahhh! It feels so good to hug something that's not a pillow!" Yukiko exclaimed, applying more pressure around the nobody's body.

Xion and Pyra glanced at each other before sighing simultaneously. What was it? The third time today that Roxas had been in this position. The poor boy would probably develop PTSD if this continued.

"…Um…That's great Yukiko, but you are seriously going to kill Roxas if you keep that up." Xion said.

"No, I won't! Roxas is much more durable than a normal human, so I can hug him as hard as I want withoutbreakinghim." Yukiko responded. She was talking so fast that Pyra and Xion were barely able to comprehend what she was saying.

"I'm not talking about breaking him, but he does need air…" Pyra said, her paws twitching a little. She was getting kind of jealous that everyone else was being all huggy except for her.

Pausing, Yukiko looked down to see that Pyra was indeed right. Roxas's face was turning blue from lack of oxygen. But even though she saw that, she was still extremely reluctant to let to. It took basically all of her willpower to release the nobody just enough to allow him to gasp for air.

"Y-Yukiko!" Roxas gasped.

"Hi Roxas! It's so good to seeyouandeveryoneelsethismorning."

"…What?"

Yukiko slipped off the nobody and took a few deep breaths. "Sorry about that…the full moon is tonight."

"Right…" Roxas said. "So, it's affecting you too huh?"

Yukiko nodded up and down ferociously. "Yeti's get really antsy on the full moon if they don't have someone to cuddle with." She said as she turned to both Xion and Pyra. Her attention turned to Pyra first, all the while a massive grin crossed her face. "Your turn!" She exclaimed, leaping in the air.

Fortunately for Pyra, she guessed what was about to happen…and unfortunately for Xion, Pyra quickly grabbed her and forced the puppet to take her place. The Yeti collided hard with Xion and both were sent sprawling to the ground.

Xion just lay there, her eyes wide with confusion as she allowed Yukiko to rub her cheek against hers affectionately.

"Alright, I think that's enough." Pyra said as she reached down and grabbed the Yeti by the back of her school uniform, lifting her off of the poor puppet. "Thanks for the save, Xion."

"…How could you?" Xion asked comedically.

"Hey, you were the closest thing to a shield that I had…" She said as she looked over at Yukiko, who was trying desperately to give the Hellhound a smothering hug. The only thing that was preventing her from doing such a thing was a firm paw that was still grasping the back of her uniform. "What are we going to do with you?"

When those words escaped her mouth, Pyra noticed that Roxas was walking towards them again, his face completely red from embarrassment. Suddenly, a grin formed on her face. "Here Roxas, catch!"

"What?"

Pyra shoved Yukiko at the nobody and just like a magnet, the Yeti was latched onto his arm with a huge smile on her face.

"You entertain her for the day."

Roxas looked at Yukiko, who looked back at him with eyes that burned with…something he couldn't really recognize. The smile on her face was there, but it seemed to send a different message than the one she usually had. For some reason, it really reminded him of those strange looks that Miia, Centorea, and Papi gave Kimihito on the last full moon.

Having those same kinds of eyes looking at him now was a bit unnerving.

* * *

There wasn't a word in the dictionary that could describe how strange the school day was. For one, Mrs. Kitsuna was a complete mess through the entire lecture. Her usually stunning handwriting turning into a little more than chicken scratch because of how fidgety she was. Anytime a student would ask her a question, she would turn into a nervous wreck. Multiple times, she had to leave the classroom for a few minutes to compose herself.

That's not to say the rest of the class was any better either. Most of the Liminal didn't pay the slightest attention to the lecture either. Many found themselves fiddling with their pencils, or just messing around with something in their hands. It was quite obvious that the full moon was a big deal. There were some slight episodes in the past few days, but nothing was as bad as now.

Finally, the bell rang and Mrs. Kitsuna slammed her calk down in relief as she turned to the rest of the class.

"Alright c-c-class. R-Remember that tonight is t-t-the Full M-M-Moon, and as such, you have to r-r-remember the regulations. Be back a-a-at your hosts house before 6:00 PM." She said, her words followed by annoyed grumbles from the class.

"I forgot all about that." Yukiko whimpered sadly.

"N-Now now, none of t-that." Mrs. Kitsuna said. "This rule is more for your safety than anything else. Y-You know what happens during the full moon, no?"

"Yes Mrs. Kitsuna." The class echoed.

"What's she talking about?" Roxas asked Yukiko as the students started standing from their seats and packing their bags. He noticed that Callie quickly snatched Ichiro by the arm and dragged him out of the classroom.

"Sex-"

"Nothing!" Yukiko interrupted Pyra with a glare while the Hellhound simply smirked back. She then turned back to Roxas. "Hey, could you go grab our president? We will meet you in the clubroom."

Roxas blinked a few times. That was indeed a strange request because they would usually wait until Ichiro and Callie returned on their own. He opened his mouth to ask why, but the flustered Yeti interrupted him.

"Please! Can you just go get them?" Yukiko asked, biting her lower lip.

Roxas closed his mouth and slowly nodded his head. Without another word, he left the room.

"…That was weird. Why did you ask him to do that Yukiko? We usually wait until Callie is done with Ichiro before they come back." Pyra said.

Yukiko shuffled uncomfortably. "I…I didn't know if I would've been able to hold back a second longer." She whispered.

"What do you mean?" Xion asked.

"I…" Yukiko paused as she slowly wrapped her arms around herself and looking around nervously. "Let's get to the clubroom first, then I'll tell you."

* * *

Roxas was walking down the hallway in the direction he remembered seeing Callie drag Ichiro off to. They were moving kinda fast, but Roxas just trotted behind them a few meters back so they didn't seem to notice. He was a bit preoccupied with how Yukiko was acting. During the entirety of the school period, he could literally feel her staring holes in the back of his head.

Not only that, but she was acting extra clingy during lunch as well. It was really weird to watch her try and eat with one hand while the other arm was looped around his arm. It also made it difficult to eat himself, but he couldn't get her off. The full moon sure was having a huge effect on her.

And then there was Pyra. Though she tried hiding it, the Full moon was also working its magic on her. During lunch, she even…

Roxas let that thought process drop for now as he began to wonder what was the moon doing to them exactly. It made all the Liminal in the classroom so…fidgety. Even their teacher was having a hard time during class, but why was the full moon affecting them?

Deciding to think about that later, he noticed a door closed on the far side of the hall. It peaked his curiosity because he always wondered what Callie and Ichiro were doing every time Callie dragged him away. They always returned a few moments later, but Ichiro looked like he was about to pass out each time they came back. Slowly, he walked down the hallway until he reached to door. He could hear both Ichiro's and Callie's voices in the room.

"Callie, we did this a couple days ago. Are you really due for another...Um…You know…"

"Well…Yes, but…I um…"

"Are you ok? Is the full moon affecting you as well?"

"Kinda, but…Um…could you…"

"Yeah? What's wrong? Your face is really red. You're not getting sick, are you?"

"…"

"Um…Callie? What are you doing?"

"…"

"Whoa! Hold on! You just need me to…Help you out, right? Why are you looking at me like that! To close! To clo-Mph!"

Roxas raised an eyebrow as a sudden crash echoed through the room. The sound of a couple bodies hitting the ground as well as a metal bucket could be heard through the door.

Frowning, he reached forward and grasped the handle of the door before pulling it open.

"…"

There was the longest pause as the nobody witnessed the entire scene in front of him. He couldn't really describe what he was seeing, only that it made his eyebrows rise into his hairline.

In the center of the empty classroom were Ichiro and Callie. Ichiro was laying on his back, his eyes wide with shock. He wasn't looking at Roxas though because his eyes were staring directly at the Liminal laying on top of him, capturing his lips with hers in a passionate kiss.

Callie's eyes were closed and a blissful look was plastered on her face. Her hands were resting on Ichiro's shoulders and her top was completely off, her bra covered breasts pressing against Ichiro's chest. Right next to them, there was an empty bucket that had been knocked over and forgotten as well as Callie's shirt.

However, the instant Roxas opened the door, the two broke apart. The awkward atmosphere was almost too much for all three to handle. For one, Callie was now exposing her half-naked chest out in the open, Ichiro's face was redder than molten lava, and a small blush was dotting Roxas's cheeks when he saw the two staring at him with horrified expressions.

"Um…Is now a bad time?" Roxas asked innocently.

* * *

In the club room, Yukiko was shuffling awkwardly in front of Pyra and Xion.

"So, are you going to tell us why you had Roxas run off after Ichiro and Callie? You do realize what they are doing when they leave, don't you?" Pyra asked curiously.

"I know, it's just…I…It's just so hard, ok!" Yukiko exclaimed, rubbing her paws together.

"No…I'm pretty sure Roxas isn't affected by the Full moon like Liminal are." Pyra said, a small grin claiming along her face.

"What are you…Wha-NO! I didn't mean that!" Yukiko screeched, her face turning a bright shade of red. "Just, sitting behind him like that for hours and not…doing anything! Any longer and…"

"Geeze, you're really having it hard, huh?" Pyra commented, but in truth, she wasn't doing much better. "Do all Yeti end up like this during the full moon?"

Yukiko bit her lower lip and nodded. "During the day, you can't separate my mom and dad. At night…let's just say there is a reason why they leave us in one of the resort guest rooms instead of the house."

"Wow…To much information." Pyra said, licking her lips slightly.

"You asked!" Yukiko countered. "Now, I kinda understand though. Sometimes, I just wanna…" Yukiko trailed off, her facing during a darker shade of red and her breathing a bit more labored.

Xion looked curiously at the two of them, her head tilted slightly. "What are you two talking about? I don't understand."

Pyra and Yukiko turned to the girl. They didn't really smile or laugh this time because the joke had gotten old at this point. Instead, it was becoming a little tired and kind of sad.

"Trust me on this one Xion…" Pyra said, resting a paw on her shoulder. "It would be best if we didn't talk about it right now, I mean…seeing how much of a Pervert Yukiko is becoming, talking about it might trigger her to do something she might regret later."

"P-PERVERT!? PYRA!" Yukiko wined. "Don't act like I'm the only one affected. I saw you steeling glances and fidgeting the entire class period!"

"Hah! Yeah right! Name one time I acted like that!" Pyra said, turning to the Yeti girl with a grin.

"You grabbed his butt during lunch!"

"…True, but that doesn't prove anything!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone tensed up as they heard an ear-shattering scream echo through the entire school.

"What was that?" Xion asked.

"Oh…I might have an idea." Pyra said with an amused grin.

It wasn't a few moments later that the door to the clubroom slowly opened and there stood Roxas. He blinked a couple times as he walked through, the most confused expression on his face. It was also important to note that there was a red, pulsing, hand-shaped mark on his right cheek.

"…Callie and Ichiro are…busy I think…"

For the next few moments, the air was saturated with Pyra's howling laughter while Yukiko frantically tried to apologize, but was finding it hard because she was on the verge of laughing. It took them a while to calm down, especially for the Hellhound, who was rolling around on the floor, laughing her head off.

"Callie S-Slapped Roxas! HAHAHA!" Pyra roared as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

Roxas and Xion just glanced at each other in confusion, wondering why this situation was so funny. Despite her best efforts, Yukiko found herself unable to fully stop herself to laughing as well. Even though Roxas might have seen something he shouldn't have, it was still a hilarious situation one would only see in a manga.

In fact, there laughing continued until Ichiro and Callie returned from whatever they were doing. Both looked extremely embarrassed, more specifically Callie, who had yet to look Roxas in the eye. It was like that for the entirety of the club meeting. After Pyra managed to gain control of herself, Ichiro shared a few inspirational messages about trying to find a muse for photography and encouraged them to make the deadline for their photographs. He endured everyone's questions and they furthered there pans for their first club event.

Finally, it was time to head home. Roxas picked up his things and packed them away in his bag before he felt a small tug on his sleeve. He glanced over to see Callie standing there with an incredibly embarrassed blush on her face.

"Um…Roxas…. I-Um…" She fumbled, releasing his sleeve.

"What's wrong Callie?" Roxas asked. "You ok?"

"Huh?" Callie murdered, meeting Roxas's gaze for the first time that day. "Oh, no-it's nothing. I just…I just wanted to apologize for slapping you."

"Oh, that." Roxas murmured. "That was kinda confusing, but it's alright. I'll just make sure to leave you two alone and wait for you to come back next time."

Callie blushed again, sneaking a glance over at Ichiro, who was in the middle of asking Xion and Yukiko what they were going to take photographs of. She glanced back up at Roxas, biting her lower lip. "You're not mad?"

"…No…Should I be?" Roxas asked back, throwing his back pack over his shoulder. "Everyone is acting weird today, so it's not really your fault."

"Well…actually…" Callie said, knowing that if this situation happened on a different day, she still would have probably slapped him out of sheer embarrassment. "You know what, neverminded. You're right!" She finished with a smile.

Roxas smiled as well. "See? No reason to get mad of feel bad about it."

"You're right." Callie said, glancing over at Ichiro again and rubbing her hands together nervously. "Thank you! It's awesome to have such great friends."

"…True." Roxas responded as he and Callie made their way over to the others. He could not help but agree with Callie on that one. This life was had become so much more than he ever thought possible for a nobody like him. He never expected to look forward to every day, waking up with a smile on his face and wonder what he was going to learn.

But most of all, he never expected to have so many friends. He never thought there would be so many people in his life that he cared about and couldn't imagine a life without. It was because of them that he found a new joy in life and…maybe even a reason to exist.

Again, it was amazing that a nobody like him could feel something like this and actually comprehend it. It was just another reason why Xemnas was wrong about the nobodies.

They weren't as empty as everyone thought they were.

* * *

The walk home went as expected. Yukiko had become like a barnacle, trying everything in her power to stay attached to the person of her affection. But while she was more open about it, Pyra continued trying to contain herself, which made her a fidgety mess. Hopefully things would calm down when they got back to the house.

It wasn't but a few moments before Roxas had abandoned that train of thought. The instant they walked through the front door, they saw that the entire house was thrashed. Kimihito was frantically trying to calm the girls down, but the bickering continued between Miia, Papi, and Centorea. Mero and Rachnera were watching along the sidelines, clearly enjoying the scene.

Roxas walked up next to her with Yukiko still snuggled onto his arm. "Rachnee, aren't you going to help him?"

"Oh, you guys are back." Rachnera said, taking a moment to glance at the bewildered children before looking back at the chaotic situation. Kimihito had managed to convince them to calm down by claiming he needed to get dinner ready. But even though the girls agreed, everyone could see that they were trying everything in their power to hold themselves back from basically raping the poor man. It was so entertaining, that Rachnera couldn't help but enjoy the drama. "Nah, I don't think I will. Honey needs to be a bit more decisive if he wants this to stop."

"Decisive about what?" Roxas asked.

Rachnera shook her head and grinned down at him. She reached over and ruffled his hair with her sharp hand. "About who he is going to pick for marriage."

"Oh…That…" Roxas said, a contemplating expression on his face. "Why does he have to choose?"

Rachnera, Yukiko, and Pyra nearly choked on their own breath as they looked at Roxas in unbelief. At first, they thought he was being a smartass, but seeing the genuinely curious look on his face, they had to remind herself that Roxas's circumstance was special.

He had amnesia, so he didn't get it.

"That's a complicated topic that can be saved for another time." Rachnera said, turning back to the drama. Papi had attempted to Glomp onto Kimihito, but was stopped by Miia. However, both girls crashed into Kimihito and they all tumbled to the ground, the half cool food nearly falling off the stove. "But…I think we should give them a hand. Otherwise, we won't be eating dinner today."

"…Sure…I guess." Roxas said slowly. He was beginning to get a little annoyed with how people kept dodging certain topics. What were they all so embarrassed to talk about?

After hours of arguing, bickering, and yelling, everyone was finally settled down to a rather massive fest of turkey, milk, cheese, almonds, whole wheat bread, Salads, and other…rather peculiar items. It was a very strange spread of food, but it was still delicious nonetheless. Everyone basically gorged themselves.

Sadly, since the Liminal curfew for students was much earlier tonight, Roxas and Xion found themselves already needing to walk Pyra and Yukiko home for the night.

But despite the earlier hours, everyone seemed much more tired than usual. They were barely able to concentrate on a single game of Mario cart without someone nodding off. It wasn't until later that they learned that Kimihito had used special foods that make people incredibly sleepy, which made sense because he didn't want to fear for his life…or chastity during the prime hours of the full moon.

When 6:00 rolled around, Yukiko was barely able to keep her eyes open as she placed the controller on the coffee table. She gave a long yawn before playfully laying down sideways on the couch, her head resting in Kimihito's lap while her legs landed on Xion's thighs. She looked up at him with her big watery eyes.

"Can't we stay over tonight Bro?" She asked, putting on her best puppy face.

"That…probably wouldn't be a good idea." Kimihito responded, comedically patting the top of her head. "You students have those rules for a reason, so it would be best to obey them."

"Poo." Yukiko pouted as she slowly sat up.

"*Yawn* Screw the rules." Pyra countered, stretching her arms to the celling. "My aunt is going to keep me up all night."

"Sorry to hear that, but Rules are Rules." Kimihito said with a smile. Honestly, he had his hands full for the night with all his tenants. While he loved Yukiko and Pyra to death, he didn't know if he could handle two more considering how tired he was. "Roxas, Xion, why don't you take them home now. I'll start cleaning up and putting everyone to bed."

Roxas and Xion nodded as they rose from their seats and walked over to Pyra and Yukiko. Both Liminal looked as if they were ready for bed, but Roxas and Xion weren't as affected by the meal as everyone else.

Pyra whipped her paw over and grasped Xion's wrist. "To save time, you're taking me home." She said as she shot a tired gaze at Roxas. "You take her home."

"…We can all walk together." Roxas said, his eyebrow raised.

"Nope! I'm tired and want to get to bed as fast as possible." Pyra said, grasping onto Xion's shoulder for support in an attempt to stand, showing off her fangs with another long yawn. To be honest, she just wanted the day to end. She had been holding herself back all day, and even though she was tired, she was also at her limits. Any more, and she would have probably caved into her desired no matter what the costs. Stupid Hellhound genes.

Yukiko seemed happy by the idea as she stood up on the couch and leaped onto Roxas's back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Carry me!" She said sleepily while snuggling into his back.

Roxas simply shook his head as he hooked his arms under her legs.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna take Pyra home since your…hands are full." Xion commented, a small grin on her face. Her sense of humor had been getting better, but still needed a little work.

"…Oh, hilarious." Roxas said dryly, shifting the Yeti up a little to get in a more comfortable position.

* * *

It wasn't long before Roxas was standing in front of the rundown apartment complex. Yukiko had dosed off and on during the trip, but she was wide awake now. She hesitated for a second, but lowered herself from off Roxas's back. "You don't have to come in this time. It's…not a good idea."

"Why's that?"

"I'd rather not say." Yukiko said, blushing deeply.

"…Ok, I will see you tomorrow then." He responded, giving her a small smile.

Yukiko nodded, rubbing her paw together nervously. The look on her face became one of determination before she reached out her arms and circled them around his torso once more. "You're the best Roxas." She said before she pulled away slightly. Her cheeks were rosy red before she brought her face close to his and pressed her lips against his cheek.

Instantly, Roxas's face flared up. His heartbeat increased dramatically, and his core temperature increased a few degrees. This sudden rush of feeling left him speechless. Again, these unfamiliar emotions were difficult to understand. Although he felt them occasionally, it wasn't nearly enough to know what they meant. It didn't mean those feelings were bad, just unfamiliar.

Yukiko left her lips lingering there for a moment, enjoying the feeling of her own increased heart rate before she pulled back. She giggled at Roxas's shocked expression as she skipped away from him, her hands behind her back. "Goodnight, Roxas." She said as she pulled open the door and walked into the apartment.

Roxas stood there for a second, his hand slowly coming to his cheek as he watched the door close after her. He didn't know what these feeling meant, but he really wanted to find out. Why did these feeling emerge? And why did they mostly occur around Yukiko and Pyra? What did they mean?

Turning away from the door, Roxas took a few paces away from the apartment complex, his mind still pondering the phenomenon.

 _Thump_

The nobody frowned when he heard a sudden noise from inside Yukiko's apartment. He turned around to face the door, staring at it for a few seconds. When the sound didn't happen again, he shrugged his shoulders and walked away from the complex.

* * *

Aiko was breathing heavily as he dropped the chloroform filled rag, watching the door intently. He slowly glanced down at Yukiko's Motionless body. He'd been sloppy and the Yeti was almost able to cry for help, but he managed to cover her mouth before it was too late. However, her unconscious body hitting the ground made enough noise.

Luckily, the boy who escorted her home didn't return to check on the noise.

"Damn Brats." Akio cursed as he retreated to the living room and picked up his cell phone. He dialed a few numbers before placing it to his ear.

"Hey, we doing this tonight, or not?"

"…"

"When is the van coming? I need to get her out of here right now. We can't miss that Freighter."

"…"

"Perfect. How's the haul this time?"

"…"

"Hell Yeah! Hopefully we can transport all of them before anyone figures out what's happening."

"…"

"Good, this is going to be a big payday." Akio grinned as he ended the call, glancing over at Yukiko's prone form with a sadistic grin. It was a little unfortunate for Akio that he didn't hear Yukiko's phone vibrating in her pocket.

* * *

Roxas was again sitting at his desk, typing away with Suu in his lap once again. They were both winding down for the night after they spent a few hours helping Kimihito clean up the house after the disastrous day. Today had been absolutely insane, but thanks to Kimihito's genius, most of the house habitants were fast asleep thanks to the food.

In fact, Roxas felt himself yawn deeply before he reached up and saved the file on his computer.

"I think we should call it a night, Suu."

Suu nodded her head, but didn't look particularly tired. They both made their way to the bed. Suu Lay down in her pool, watching Roxas collapse on his bed. With all that happened today, the Nobody wasn't surprised at how tired he was now that everything had calmed down. He felt his eyes close as his breathing begin to soften.

 _BRRRRRR_

Frowning, Roxas looked over at the night stand. His phone was vibrating. He raised an eyebrow as he reached over and picked up the phone. When he saw that the caller ID was actually Smith, he quickly brought the phone to his ear.

"Smith? Why are you calling so late?" Roxas asked with a yawn.

There was a long pause on the phone while multiple voices echoed in the background. _"Roxas…You took Yukiko home tonight, right? She's not at your place, right?"_

For some reason, a sinking feeling entered Roxas's stomach. He was no longer tired anymore when he heard the tone in Smith's voice. It wasn't her usual teasing voice she used to get Kimihito's girls riled up, or the voice she used when addressing him. This tone was her rarely serious tone she used only when something important was happening.

"…Yeah…Why are you asking?"

 _"…_ _Roxas…I need you to stay calm as I tell you this."_ Smith said, causing that feeling in his gut to multiply.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" Roxas asked. Sitting up in his bed.

 _"…_ _I'm sorry Roxas. Yukiko was kidnaped."_

Roxas felt his heart stop, his limbs going numb right as Smith finished her sentence. His cell phone dropped from his hand, bouncing off his bed and landed on the floor with a quiet thump. He felt as if his entire world was crashing down on him. His friend, one of the first fiends he'd ever made had been kidnapped. She was gone.

In that moment, something else awoke inside of the nobody. His teeth slowly clenched as did his fists. Pure, unrestrained fury coursed through his veins like a raging current.

White energy seeped from his body, lighting up the entire bedroom with an illuminating glow. Streaks of light began circling around him as he continued to shake in fury. He didn't pay any attention to it though because his mind was focused on one single thing.

 _Roxas! Roxas! Answer me!"_ Smith's voice said through the phone.

With the energy still coursing around him, Roxas knelt down and picked the phone up, trying his hardest not to crush it in his hand.

"What happened?" He seethed dangerously.

 _"_ _What?"_

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Roxas yelled into the phone, the light energy erupting more from his being as anger continued to swell in his chest.

Suu watched Roxas, her emerald eyes wide. She had never seen the nobody like this before and it was…scary. She could only reach out and gently rest a feeler on his arm, hoping she might be able to do something to calm him down.

Unfortunately, it had no such affect. The rage that Roxas felt at the moment could only be quenched by finding the ones who took his friend and making them pay.

And when he did find them, God have mercy…

Because Roxas would not.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Bwahaha! Cliffhanger! Don't worry though. This next chapter will hopefully not take as long to come out. Make sure to leave a review, but try to tone down the hate about the cliffhanger. I know you guys don't like them, but...Sometimes they just have to happen. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter.**

 **Now I know a few of you will talk about how the Liminal are acting during the DAY of the full moon. Some of you might say that they are only affected under the light of the full moon, but I didn't see that anywhere in the manga or in the anime. I made it so that most the Liminal are affected during the day, but not to the extent of being under the moon itself.**

 **If you liked the chapter and want more of this story, please drop a review. It helps me enormously. Thanks!**

 **Until then!**


	18. Chapter 18 : Day 39

**Authors Note: Well, this is awkward…**

 **As you know, I have been gone for a LONG time. I apologize for that but to tell you the truth, I was having the most difficult time getting motivated to write. Occasionally, I was granted short bursts of inspiration, but it would fizzle out after a few thousand words and I wouldn't come back to the story for a long time. The Holidays, my job, and life in general has been keeping me really busy. I could go on and on with excuses, but the main problem was the motivation to write. I just got into this rut where it was difficult to be satisfied with anything I wrote. Who knows, maybe it was because I let my skill rust.**

 **You've waited long enough. Here is the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 18

Day 39-40

Roxas slowly lowered his phone when the call with Smith came to an end. The coordinator gave him a small rundown of what happened, but advised that it would be best to come down to the apartment complex so they could talk about it in person. Apparently, she wanted to ask him and Pyra a few questions, hoping it might give an idea of where Akio might have taken…her.

Just the thought that she was gone was enough to get the nobody riled up again. How could something like this happen? Why would Akio do it? What could possible motivate him to kidnap someone as kind and innocent as Yukiko?

The Nobody didn't care if smith wanted him to come down or not. Right when the Coordinator told him what happened, he already made the decision to storm down to the apartment complex and find out for himself. He was going to find her, no matter what it took.

The mysterious white energy was still swirling around him, though it had become gentler as the conversation with smith proceeded. Instead of acting like a violent twisting whirlpool of energy, it had calmed to a steady stream that lightly whipped around the room.

Now that the nobody had a few moments to calm down and think, Roxas slowly raised his arms, curiously watching as the light energy danced around his hands and fingers. He had never seen anything like this before. Never in any of his training sessions had this power manifested, nor his dreams of Sora.

But whatever this energy was, made the nobody feel…powerful.

"What is this?" he whispered to himself, watching the light slowly subside into much smaller wisps. Naturally, he would have been more curious about it, but there was a matter that was much more pressing. Yukiko wasn't going to be saved by him wondering what this power was.

So, tearing his eyes away from the energy, his mind got back on track. Even now, flecks of light emitted off of his body as he rummaged through his room looking for his Organization 13 coat. There would be a time and a place for him to wonder where this power was coming from, but for now he didn't care.

Suu watched with an amazed/worried expression on her face as Roxas stormed around his room, throwing the Organization 13 coat over his shoulders. She didn't quite understand the full extent of what was going on, but she heard just enough to get an idea. She was also immensely worried about Yukiko, but her worries also lied with the nobody because he seemed to get increasingly frustrated with every passing second. It was sad to see Roxas in such a state of rage, so much so that she stood from her pool and walked over to him.

"Roxas…" She murmured as she slowly reached over and wrapped one of her feelers around his arm. As soon as the cold appendage touched him, Roxas wrenched his arms from her grasp, turning angrily and unintentionally glaring at her.

"What is it!" He snapped.

The sheer intensity in his eyes…frightened the young slime. She had never seen a gaze filled with this much hatred in her life, especially one that was directed at her. It caused her to instantly recoil as if she'd been slapped. Her large emerald eyes forming an expression of hurt and sadness.

Seeing that expression on Suu's face felt like someone threw a bucket of ice water over Roxas's head. He didn't mean to glare or snap at her like that. She was just trying to help and he turned his rage on her. It wasn't her fault. She didn't deserve that.

Roxas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His fiery rage was still burning within him, but he knew he couldn't direct it at someone who had nothing to do with the problem. He could not treat the innocent and kind slime like this was her fault. He slowly inhaled through his nose and let out a long breath. By doing so, the light energy emitting from his body reduced even more, leaving the room significantly dimmer.

"S-Sorry Suu." Roxas said, the look on the slimes face nearly breaking his heart. He glanced away from her. "It's just…I can't stand this feeling. I'm so…angry."

Suu was still a bit frightened by his previous glare, but she slowly approached him, cautiously reaching out with her hand before threading it through his own. Her cool touch did wonders against his fiery rage. He gently squeezed back, though he couldn't meet her emerald eyes.

"I-I don't think Roxas can find Yukiko like…this." Suu murmured, moving closer to the nobody and gently wrapping her feelers around him.

"…" Roxas paused for a moment before he met her sad gaze. It hurt him to see how upset the usually happy slime was. It was obvious that he wasn't the only one who was having a hard time dealing with everything. He felt her arms circle around his body and her main feeler creeping up the side of his face before resting on the crown of his head. Instantly, the rage simmered down even more as clarity entered his mind. It seemed to penetrate through the anger that was clouding his judgement.

But along with that clarity came something else. An intense feeling of sadness. It took him just a moment to realize that this was how Suu was feeling. Again, it hurt to not only see how upset she was, but to feel it as well.

Taking another deep breath, Roxas reached up and rested a hand on the back of her head. "You right. If I'm going to find Yukiko, I need to calm down."

Suu nodded in approval, a small cautious smile creeping along her face as she glanced at the small particles of light still resonating off the Nobody. "Roxas, what was is this light?"

Roxas looked down at his hands again, seeing the slivers of light. "I-I don't know, but I can't worry about that right now. I need to find Yukiko."

"Yes…we do."

Roxas blinked owlishly, looking down at the slime. "We?"

Suu nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her feelers constricted tighter around his body as if to say it wasn't a suggestion. "Yes! Suu is going with you. Suu is also worried about Yukiko."

The Nobody paused for a moment before shaking his head. "You can't come Suu. I can't waste any time so I'm going to use the Corridor of darkness. Without this coat…" He said, tugging his collar. "the darkness will hurt you."

Suu through about it for a few seconds before a bigger smile crossed her face, her main feeler lighting up like a light bulb. "So, if Suu also wears the coat, she will be fine?"

Roxas scrunched his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Suu didn't answer. Instead, her main feeler slid over to his neck and entered the collar of his coat. Then without warning, her body simply followed the trail, dissolved into a massless goo before flowing into the collar. Roxas didn't expect something like this, so he didn't have the chance to stop her before she pushed her entire body into his coat, completely surrounding his torso in a small layer of slime beneath the fabric. Soon, her entire gelatinous body was inside the coat with him.

"Suu! What are you doing? We don't have time for this!" Roxas growled, reaching up to unzip the coat in order to get her out. However, he felt a good amount of resistance as Suu used her body to gently constrict around his arm, preventing him from unzipping the coat. He felt a feeler crawl up his neck and rest on his shoulder.

"Suu is worried about Yukiko too." Suu said softly into his ear. He felt her main feeler crawl up the back of his head before resting there again. He was again overwhelmed with an array of feelings, the main one being worry. An intense worry about Yukiko's safety, and A desire to help no matter what the cost.

"…These are your feelings, aren't they?"

Suu didn't answer, just gently constricted her slime around his torso, giving him the impression that he was not going to get her off anytime soon. She really wanted to save Yukiko like he did.

Giving a final sigh, Roxas conceded. "Alright, let's go then." He said as he stretched forth his hand and summoned the Corridor of darkness.

* * *

Smith slowly shook her head as she and Axel scoped out the area. The entire apartment was completely empty. Not a shred of evidence was left to prove that someone had lived there. Based on the few times she'd met Akio, she thought he was just a regular underachieving slob who simply offered his apartment to the exchange program in order make a quick buck. But seeing how well he covered his tracks, he was far from an amateur. She regretted not finding a better home for the kind Liminal girl, but the unfortunate truth was that those who were willing to host were far and few in between. Heck, that's why Kimihito had so many girls in his house.

Walking up the stairs, Smith entered Yukiko's room in the hopes of finding any hint as to where Akio might have taken her. But again, it was completely empty. Her books, computer, bedsheets, even her cell phone were burned in a steel barrel outside the apartment complex. The room was stripped bare, wiped clean, and bleached. In fact, the entire apartment was like that a hospital room.

Smith grit her teeth in anger. Akio wasn't the best host, but she didn't think he would be a part of the Liminal trafficking business. This had been a problem in the past, which was why she gave all the Liminal's under the care of a host a mandatory call every full moon. Not only would she make sure they weren't losing control of themselves, but she also knew it was the prime time for Liminal Kidnapping because that's when Liminal were most vulnerable. Under the influence of the Full moon, even the cleverest of Liminal had poor judgment. It made for pretty easy targets when they weren't in there right state of mind.

When Yukiko didn't answer her phone, Smith knew something was wrong. The Yeti was usually very good about answering her phone when Smith was on the other end. When it didn't happen, the coordinator took action and went for a personal visit. But when she finally arrived, it was too late. The apartment had been stripped clean, seemingly by a group of professionals in order to cover any clues. She had seen this pattern a lot in the past, which made it a huge pain in the ass to find out where they had gone. These guys rarely made mistakes.

"Smith." Axel said through the doorway of Yukiko's room.

"Please give me some good news." Smith said quietly, glancing over her shoulder at the tall red-haired nobody.

"Polt and Pyra just showed up…and so did Roxas."

Smith turned to face the newest member of MON. Axel was dressed in his usual black coat with one had on his hip, the other resting on the door frame. Today, he was the only one she brought with her because the others were too affected by the Full moon to be of any use. Luckily, Axel didn't have that problem.

"Where are they?"

"Out front. I think Polt and Pyra are trying to find a trail."

Smith shook her head as she turned and walked past him. "They'll be lucky if they find one. These guys are really good at covering their tracks."

"Is that so?"

Smith started walking down the stairs, looking over her shoulder at the nobody. She couldn't help but feel a bit angry at how casual he was being. By the tone in his voice, it sounded like this situation didn't bother him at all, almost like he didn't care. But then again, she could…sort of understand. In the short time he had been a part of MON, Axel barely reacted to anything. Even in conversation where it looked like he would joke around with the others, it was pretty easy to tell he was just pretending. He went through the motions because it was part of his job, but his…heart wasn't in it.

It made sense because Axel didn't have a heart.

There was only one thing that Axel seemed to react to, and that was any mention of Xion or Roxas. For some reason, whenever those two were mentioned, there was a tiny flicker of light in his eyes. It made the coordinator wonder if it might be possible that Axel wasn't as empty as he thought he was. But then again, seeing him so casual right now made her question that thought process.

When she stepped outside, she already saw Polt and Pyra sniffing around the backside of the building. Roxas was standing behind them dressed in his Black coat.

"Ugh!" Pyra exclaimed, holding her nose in disgust. "It's no good, they masked there sent with Gasoline."

"Can't we follow the smell of Gasoline then?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah sure…only one problem…This entire city reeks of Gasoline! It all blends together so I can't track it." Pyra growled in annoyance.

"Damnit! Then how are we supposed to find her?" Roxas snapped, his fists clenched.

Hearing Pyra's declaration just made the entire situation worse. This same thing would happen in the past when she asked Canine Liminal's for support. The trafficking companies were getting smarter. They would find ways to either mast their scent or eliminate it completely.

Polt was standing near her Niece, resting a paw on her shoulder with a teary expression on her face. Her ears were flat against the top of her head and her tail was between her legs. "I'm Sorry Pyra…I couldn't find anything either."

"So, it's just as bad as we thought?" Smith asked, causing Pyra, Roxas, and Polt to look over at her.

"It is." Polt confirmed, her usual happy demeaner gone. Even the presence of the full moon wasn't enough to distract her from the current situation. "It's just like last time. They scrapped the place and bleached it down to mask any sent that might have been here. We have nothing." She confirmed, her ears drooping more with each word.

Smith watched Roxas's entire frame begin to shake in pure anger. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to call him here.

"Roxas, you were the last one to see Yukiko. Did she…did she say anything to you?" smith asked hopefully.

"…What do you mean." Roxas snapped through clenched teeth, not meeting Smith's gaze.

"Did she seem different when you walked her home? Like she was scared or worried about something?"

Roxas thought back to just a few hours ago when he walked Yukiko back to her apartment. Besides being a little extra clingy because of the full moon, there was no difference in her character. There was no indication that she was unusually scared by something. Well…besides her usual uneasiness of her own host.

"No, she didn't. She acted like she usually did." Roxas said. "But…"

"But what?"

"…" Roxas paused for a moment as his eyes widened a little. He remembered hearing a small thump when he walked away from the apartment. But at the moment, he just thought Yukiko knocked something over when she entered her apartment…

Was it possible that's when Akio attacked her?

…

Suddenly, Roxas felt sick. His stomach turned as he swallowed a lump in his throat. Did he have the ability to save her before she even got taken? Did him ignoring that sound mean it was his fault she was gone? Was this entire situation his fault?

Again, Roxas started shaking. He felt as if he were about to puke at the mere idea that Yukiko might be in danger because he got careless. His breathing started to increase dangerously, nearly to the point of hyperventilation as those thoughts continued to swim around his mind.

"Roxas…Roxas! What's wrong!" Smith asked, seeing the look of horror on his face.

Pyra and Polt quickly approached the nobody with equally concerned looks.

Roxas…Roxas! Snap out of it!" Pyra yelled, shaking his shoulders.

Nothing they said did anything to help. It was only until a gelatinous feeler crawled out of his collar and rested on the back of his head.

"Roxas…Please calm down." A small voice whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

The nobody blinked a few times as he began to take smaller, more elongated breaths. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down, even though the thoughts of this being his fault kept penetrating his mind. But a feeling of calmness saturated his being, returning clarity to his mind.

The others however glanced over at the single feeler with raised eyebrows.

"Is Suu in your coat?" Pyra asked.

Roxas didn't seem to hear her as he slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the Coordinator.

"…Smith." Roxas said, his lower lip trembling and his eyes full of burning tears. "What am I supposed to do?"

Seeing the look on his face was nearly enough to break the heart of anyone who saw it. Never had they seen him so emotionally distraught. Not the time Kimihito snapped at him, nor the time he found out everyone was worried sick when he left without a word a few weeks ago.

No.

This was on a whole other level. A few tears leaked down his face as he looked up at smith in desperation. He wanted something…anything that would give him a spark of hope.

Smith hated that the only answer she could give him was a shake of her head. "Sorry Roxas. These people are smart. A lot of good Liminal have already been taken by them." She whispered, feeling ashamed that she even had to say this. "We only managed to thwart one kidnapping in the past."

"You have?" Pyra asked. "Then couldn't we get any clues from those you saved?"

Again, smith shook her head. "The Liminal that were kidnapped were all children. They have been sent back home to their families after the incident. Besides, they were in such a state of shock when we rescued them that I doubt they would remember anything."

Roxas screwed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. He wanted to do something…anything! But what could he do? This was the first time in the young nobody's life that he truly felt…powerless.

"Listen Roxas." Smith said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We will do everything we can to get her back."

"But what if it's not enough?" Roxas whispered. "What if you can't find her?"

Smith didn't have the answer for that. She only let her arm drop form his shoulder and took a step back, her face becoming expressionless. "Go home for now, all of you." Smith said, referring to Pyra, Polt, Roxas, and Suu.

"But, we have to do something!" Roxas shouted at the woman.

"There is nothing you can do for her right now. Just stay by your Cell phones just in case. I will let you know if we find anything." Smith said firmly.

"Smith! We can't just sit around and do noth-" Pyra started

"That's exactly what you're going to do." Smith growled. "If you want to keep wasting time arguing with me, you might as well let them get away with Yukiko."

Roxas felt his entire frame shake as his teeth gnashed together. So many thoughts were going through his mind. He didn't just WANT to save Yukiko…he needed to. She was in this situation because of him.

But…smith also had a point. What could he do? He didn't know where they took her. Right now, he was just distracting Smith from doing her job.

"Well?" Smith asked impatiently.

Roxas didn't answer, his bangs covered his eyes. He simply turned around and began to slowly walk away from the apartment complex.

Polt and Pyra glanced at each other before following suite, leaving Smith and Axel standing there with a group of CSIs.

"That was…pretty ruthless of you." Axel said dryly.

"It had to be done. If they came along, it would only distract me from doing my job. I can't have people hovering over me while I'm working." Smith countered, turning to the apartment and walking back through the door in order to scour the place one more time for clues.

Axel watched her before turning back to look at the retreating trio. His expressionless face locked onto Roxas. In all his time as a nobody, he had never seen such powerful emotions from a fellow nobody. There was no denying it. Roxas clearly felt something for this girl.

Seeing this, the corners of Axel's mouth curled up ever so slightly. The face that Roxas made when he left clearly told him that the boy was not giving up. He recognized it easily because, after all, Xion made that expression back when she learned of Xemnas's plan.

"This is getting interesting."

* * *

Roxas stormed his way along the road in the direction of Kimihito's house, the entire situation bearing down on his mind. Sure, he could just use the Corridor or Darkness to instantly be home, but the cool night air was actually helping a little. His mind was processing at a million miles an hour, trying to find any hint, clue, or thought as to what he could do to help. If he was just pacing around his room, his brain might have overloaded at this point.

Pyra and Polt were nearly jogging in order to keep up with the Nobody. They glanced at each other as they finally reached him, but they couldn't offer any words. After all, they didn't have the slightest clue as to where the Yeti might have been taken to either.

"Roxas…" Pyra started, attempting and failing to construct a meaningful sentence. What could she say? She couldn't offer any words of comfort because she was also worried sick about Yukiko. But even though she felt this way, she knew Roxas felt worse. With all his amazing abilities and strengths, it was all useless. That must have been a tough pill to swallow.

Roxas didn't look at her as he continued walking down the road.

Polt's eyebrows scrunched a little as she saw an array of emotions cross the nobodies face. It was starting to worry her because it looked like he was about to do something crazy.

"Roxas…Why don't you come and spend the night over at our house…" Polt said, getting the nobody to stop walking. He looked over his shoulder at the Kobold. "I mean, this is…"

Again, the nobody didn't respond as he broke eye contact with her and went back to thinking.

Pyra was on a completely different wavelength than her aunt though. She walked up to Roxas and rested a paw on his shoulder. "Roxas, we aren't giving up that easily, right!?" she more or less demanded.

"Of course, we aren't" Roxas responded Immediately. "There is no way I can sit around and do nothing."

Pyra grinned a little as she threw an arm over his shoulder, glad to see some fire back in his eyes. "So then, what's the plan?"

"…I don't know. We don't have any clues." Roxas said slowly.

"H-Hold on! You kids aren't planning on going out and looking on your own, are you?" Polt asked in a hurry.

"You bet your tail, we are." Pyra replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"But-But we need to leave this to the police and MON! You kids might get hurt." Polt tried to reason. "Besides, you don't even know where to look. They didn't leave any evidence. No scent trail to follow, no witnesses, and even the people that Mrs. Coordinator saved in the past aren't here anymore!"

"Yeah…It's a bummer that the only people Smith managed to save are out of the country. Not to mention they were all young children." Pyra said quietly. "Scared kids don't tend to remember much."

Roxas blinked a couple times as something in Pyra's sentence caught his attention. It caused him to stop cold in his tracks. For a brief moment, a small memory flashed through his mind.

"Still, do you think Smith will try and contact them anyways?" Pyra asked Roxas, who didn't respond. There were a few moments of silence before the Hellhound frowned. She gently shook the Nobodies shoulder. "Hey! Earth to Roxas! We kinda have a friend that needs saving."

"SHH!" Roxas shushed as he closed his eyes. "Give me a second to think…"

Pyra growled a little in annoyance, ready to give the boy a good shove, but the look of concentration on his face was enough to stop her. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him stand there, clearly thinking hard about something.

As Roxas raked his brain, the story that smith recounted about how she and MON saved a group of kids from traffickers played through his brain like a movie. For some reason, that story seemed really familiar, as if he might had heard of it before…

But where?

"Pyra…what did Smith say again about how she prevented a kidnapping?" Roxas asked, still keeping his eyes closed.

Pyra raised an eyebrow curiously before she answered. "She mentioned that she rescued a van full of Liminal kids…"

 _"_ _Humans are the most selfish creatures I have ever witnessed."_

Roxas's eyes widened when a brief exchange of words entered his mind.

"She and MON managed to save the kids before sending them them out of the country and back to their families." Pyra finished, her eyebrow raising even further when she saw the look on Roxas's face.

 _"_ _I was ripped from my home by humans that simply wanted to sell me…"_

"It can't be…" Roxas whispered.

 _"_ _And a few other Liminal children for money. They didn't consider our feelings and only saw us as a way to get gain. So, do you really blame me for my hatred?"_

As soon as the memory finished, Roxas felt his heart thump against his ribs like a drum. A bit of hope welled up in his chest as realization dawned on him.

"Roxas…what's going on? Did you think of something?" Pyra asked with a bit of hope in her voice. She was watching his facial expression change rapidly from shock, to hope, and finally…determination.

Instantly, Roxas turned to the Kobold. "Polt, I need you to go home and wait for my call."

"What-huh?" Polt stuttered, clearly confused.

"Roxas, what's going on!" Pyra asked.

Roxas gazed into Pyra's red orbs, his face turning deadly serious. "I'm going to save Yukiko. Are you coming with me?"

There was a brief moment of confusion before her face split with a grin. "Do you even need to ask?" She asked, eliciting a small smile from the boy.

"Wait! What's going on?" Polt exclaimed.

"Please Auntie Polt. Just trust me on this." Roxas pleaded, giving the Kobold a look that begged her not to ask. He didn't want to needlessly get her hopes up, and he couldn't bring her with him without upsetting the Tree Liminal.

Polt blinked a few times as she slowly nodded, still very unsure if she should let them go or not.

Roxas returned the nod before turning back to Pyra. "You ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"We need to talk with one of the kids that Smith saved." Roxas responded as he turned and hightailed it down the street, Pyra hot on his tracks. Poor Polt was left in the dust simply looking on in worry.

"Roxas! What are you talking about? All the victims are out of the country."

"Not all of them."

* * *

 _GHASP_

Breath entered Yukiko's lungs after what seemed like hours. Her eyes flew open as the room around her jolted violently. She took a few breaths and blinked her eyes, trying to get a grasp on what was going on. She frowned a bit and blinked a couple more times in an attempt to unveil the shroud of darkness from her eyes. Wherever she was, it was pitch black and each breath she took felt oddly…heavy for some reason.

With another inhale, she felt rough fabric brush against her lips. Confusion crossed her features when she realized that some kind of burlap sack was covering her head. This only further proved to increase her confusion because she had no idea why it was there. She attempted to reach up and yank the offending bag off…but as soon as she tried to move, she felt resistance against her wrists.

Feeling much more panicked now, Yukiko tired harder to move her arms, only to feel the cold touch of metal shackles grinding against her wrists.

That was when the young Yeti finally remembered what happened before she blacked out. She recalled entering her dark apartment after Roxas took her home, only to find a rough hand wrap around her neck and a filthy rag covering her mouth.

That was it.

Panic entered her being as she began to tug and pull against her metal restraints. She tried kicking her legs, but her ankles were also fastened to the cold steel floor, keeping her in a sitting position against the wall. Her arms were fastened to the wall in a very uncomfortable position, not to mention tight because her wrists were larger than most Liminal.

After a few more moments of struggling, Yukiko was beginning to understand her powerless position. That lead to the only thing she could try next.

Scream for help.

It didn't take long before the room she was in was filled with the sound of her cries for help. She also continued to struggle, trying to make as much noise as possible in the hope that someone, anyone would hear her. After all, she didn't know where she was or why she was here, but it was quite obvious what happened.

She was kidnapped.

Her screams were interrupted with A sudden bang on the side of the wall next to her head. Instantly she turned to the noise.

"Is someone there! Please help m-"

"You better shut it! You make another sound and we'll sew your mouth shut like…some of the others." The voice said with a sadistic tone. "Actually, make all the noise you want. I've been itching to play with another one o' you Liminal."

A brief moment of confusion was all the Yeti had before more realization dawned on her. Whoever was out there was not going to help her, rather he was part of the organization that was responsible for putting her here. Absolute fear and dread entered Yukiko's chest as she felt herself begin to hyperventilate. She would have started screaming again, but the person's threat sounded do sincere that it scared her into silence.

This could not be happening. Why would someone kidnap her? How did it even happen? Who would be waiting for her right when she got back to her apartment…

That's when Yukiko's eyes widened in horror. The only person in that apartment besides herself was her host.

Akio.

Again, her mind went into a panicked frenzy of confusion. Sure, Akio was an Asshole, but she didn't expect anything on this level. Why would he do this? What did he gain by kidnapping her?

Her panicked breathing increased, uncomfortably rubbing the rough burlap sack against her lips. The muffled air was beginning to make her feel lightheaded, but she didn't care.

"Hey." A nearby voice whispered, but Yukiko was way to panicked to hear.

"Hey! Calm yer britches before ye pass out." The voice snapped quietly.

The Yeti was FAR from calm, but she slowly turned her head in the direction of the voice. For some reason, the sound from an unthreatening source brought a tiny measure of peace to her mind, just enough to realize that she was not the only one in this room. Though turning her head was useless because she couldn't see a damn thing.

"Te' landlubbers only open the crate every few hours to let fresh air in. It would be much appreciated it if ye' didn't waist anymore'." The feminine voice continued quietly.

"Hey, cool it Mako. You weren't any better when we first woke." Another feminine voice whispered back.

"Humph, ye say that as if I be the only one. We learned our lesson after a couple moments o' no air." The newly named Mako replied.

Yukiko quietly listened to the soft bickering between the two voices. She didn't realize that she wasn't the only one in this position. Just the thought that she wasn't alone right now seemed to help just a little, or at least enough to calmly take a few deep breaths.

"Um…" Yukiko whispered, her heart pounding in her chest. "What's going on!"

"Hey! Not so loud." The unnamed voice hissed in a hushed tone. "We don't need our lips sewn shut because of you."

Yukiko bit her lower lip, disgusted and scared by the man's earlier threat and how it seemed to hold some truth. She took a couple soothing breaths, trying to calm her thumping heart. "W-what's going on? Where am I?" Yukiko whispered finally, her voice much quieter than before.

"Can't ye see? We been kidnapped." Mako's voice growled quietly.

"She must have a bag on her head too, fish-for-brains." The other voice said. "None of us can see anything."

"Humph! Stop actin' all high n' mighty, Piper." Mako snapped. "I can tell ye' are just as scared as the rest of us."

"Well Duh! You'd be a dumbass not to be scared right now." Piper snapped quietly.

Just listening to them go back and forth gave Yukiko something else to focus on, rather that this entire situation. However, there words just confirmed what she feared. There was no two ways about it. She had been kidnapped. With that knowledge in mind, she did the only thing she could.

She started crying quietly. The sound of her soft sobs caused the other two to quiet down and turn their attention back to her.

"Oh great, we have a crier on our hands." Mako said. "Just a tip, they won' be takin off these here bags, so if you soak it in yer' tears, it become really unpleasant."

"Speaking from experience I see." Piper replied coolly.

"Shut yer mouth!"

Even though Mako was right, Yukiko couldn't stop the tears from falling. They were quickly absorbed into the burlap sack just as fast as they were cascading down her face.

"What's your name?" Piper asked.

Yukiko sniffed loudly, clenching her eyes and trying to limit the number of tears falling from her eyes. She turned her head toward the direction of the girl. "Y-Y-Yukiko."

"Yukiko huh? I supposed that makes you a Yuki-onna?"

Yukiko's lower lip trembled, but talking was making this situation a little easier to handle. "No…I'm a Yeti."

"A Yeti, now that's unusual right there'. Wonder who would pay much for ye'. Aint' your kind pretty hairy?" Mako asked.

Yukiko flinched a little at the comment.

"Oh please Mako. If we are talking about unusual, who in their right mind would want someone who's teeth could chomp through metal?" Piper sniped.

"Yeah? And I'm sure anyone who be interested in paying for a venomous Lamia is any better?" Mako quipped back.

"Hmm, Touché. If only one of our captors got close enough, I could give them a small taste."

"Yeah…What I would give to fest upon the flesh of deez landlubbers." Mako agreed, there previous argument all but forgotten.

Yukiko listened to the two banter back and forth. Curiously, it made her calm down quite a bit just listening to them talk. Though it did make her curious as to why they were both so calm about this situation.

"Um, excuse me." Yukiko said meekly.

"Wow, ye being polite in a situation like this. You must one of them goody-goodies." Mako groused.

"You could learn a few things about that." Piper said dryly. "What is it?"

"How are you two so calm right now?" Yukiko asked. "I'm…I'm barely holding it together."

There was a brief silence for a few moments before one of them sighed, though Yukiko couldn't tell who.

"We've both been stuck in here for most of the day. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared, but panicking will do nothing but make things worse." Piper replied.

"Yeah, that's why we be arguing. It…keeps me mind busy." Mako included, followed by a sudden bang on the side of the metal container. It sounded as if Mako she gave a harsh tug on her restraints without any effect.

"Oh…" Yukiko said, finally understanding why they were acting so mean to each other. It did make sense.

"How old are you?" Piper asked.

"Huh?"

"How old are you? You sound very young."

"Oh…I'm 15." Yukiko said.

There was another pause before Mako suddenly growled. "Those landlubbers are kidnapping someone so young? Even us pirates have a code against harming children. Why, if I be not confined, I would feast upon there flesh with joy, the culture bill be damned."

Yukiko was a bit surprised by her sudden change in character. From the brief conversations so far, Mako sounded like a total jerk.

"…I would have to agree with you on this one. If given the chance, I would pump them so full of venom that there insides would dissolve into paste."

Yukiko blinked a few times under the burlap sack. She nearly flinched at the pure _venom_ in her voice.

"How did ye get taken?" Mako asked.

The sudden question brought the Yeti back to her current position. The reality of it all seemed to crash back down on her, causing her to tear up again.

"My host."

"Oh…Damn…You're serious?" Piper asked, completely astonished at her answer.

"Um…Yeah…isn't that what happened to you?" Yukiko asked.

"Chum? Nah, he never be the person to pull something like this." Mako replied.

"Indeed, coach is too nice of a guy. No, we were taken when he was off at work. Some guy claiming to be filming a documentary on Liminal asked to come in and we were dumb enough to believe him." Piper replied somberly. "But you're host did this to you?"

"I-I should have seen it coming." Yukiko whimpered. "Akio was…an asshole."

There was a brief pause for a moment before Mako snorted in laughter. "Ye know, based on the sound of yer voice, I thought ye be way to innocent to talk like a sailor."

"Agreed" Piper said as she giggled.

There quiet laughs helped Yukiko to once again calm down a little. Sure, she was still terrified, but talking with these two really helped.

"You're 15 huh? That means you go to school, right?" Piper asked.

"Yeah."

"Then tell us, what was it like? I've always wanted to give it a shot, but I'm to old at this point."

Yukiko paused, wondering if this was an appropriate time to ask these kinds of questions. But after thinking about it for a while, she realized that there was no better time. The more they sat in silence, the more the situation would bear down on them. By keeping conversation, they managed to keep some semblance of sanity.

"Well, I guess I will start when I attended my first class with Mrs. Kitsune. She is a Kitsune Liminal that teaches my home room class…"

* * *

Roxas and Pyra were standing in the dense forest in the middle of the night. It was difficult to see because the trees completely cut out any moonlight. It was convenient that Pyra was able to see in the dark because it was up to her to lead them to the usual place where Roxas would meet up with Kii.

"So, let me get this straight…" Pyra said as she trucked through the forest with Roxas close behind her. "You're saying that Kii might have a history with the traffickers? And you assume this based on a vague conversation you had with her in the past?"

"Pretty much." Roxas responded. "If there is the smallest chance she might know something, I have to ask."

"Know something about what?"

Roxas and Pyra nearly leaped out of their skins as a female figure was lowered from the tree tops via vines. Her wood feet touched the ground as she looked at the two with crossed arms. "It's unusual that you two visit me so late at night."

"Oh, thank God." Roxas whispered when he clearly recognized the voice. "Kii, I need to ask you something."

Kii perked an eyebrow in interest at the tone Roxas was using. Since he was usually quite calm and composed, the amount of emotion in his voice really caught her attention.

"Speak."

Roxas pursed his lips, the lump in his throat returning. "Kii, Yukiko was kidnapped."

It was difficult to tell in the darkness, but both teens saw Kii's eyes widened a bit. "By who?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Pyra said. "Roxas said you might know something."

Kii blinked a few times as she glanced over at Roxas. "And what gives you the idea that I might know anything?"

Roxas bit the inside of his cheek, praying to whatever deity that might be listening that his hope was not in vain. "Do you remember when we were talking the other day…" Roxas started. "when you mentioned that you and some other Liminal Kids were kidnapped?"

"I remember." Kii said, a sour look crossing her face. "What does that have to do with anything though? The people who captured me were taken in."

"Wait, you were kidnapped?" Pyra asked, her eyebrows raising into her hairline.

"I was." Kii responded simply. "It's the main reason I have taken up residence here in this forest."

"Kii, do you remember anything about the people who took you?" Roxas asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I think the people who took you might belong to the same group that took Yukiko."

Kii paused for a few moments and thought about his claim. "The chances of that are very unlikely…" Kii said. "But if my past experience can help at all, then will entertain the idea." She gave a small pause before continuing. "When I was in the back of their truck, I managed to overhear some of their conversation."

Roxas felt his throat dry out. This was their only lead, and if he was completely mistaken and Kii had nothing to do with the people that kidnapped Yukiko, then they would be back to square one. There would be nothing they could do…

And Yukiko would be gone forever.

"What did they say?" Roxas asked cautiously.

Kii's face scrunched a little as she tried to recall the memory. "I remember them talking about meeting up with some affiliates…at some port near Tokyo bay…"

"Tokyo bay…" Roxas echoed. "Why would they go there?"

"I was kidnapped by a liminal Trafficking circle…" Kii said, clear distaste in her voice. "I remember them talking about how buyers request certain Liminal, and the traffickers do the rest. I can only guess that they ship them out of Japan using a port near there…"

Roxas felt like he wanted to hurl. It was so…disturbing that his mind could not fathom why people would do such a thing. Who had the right to buy lives? Was money really that important?

"Tokyo bay…" Roxas said, his hands shaking. "That's what you said, right Kii?"

"Correct. Before we made it to the bay, the van was intercepted and the Liminal kids were rescued…except for me. I think I was simply overlooked." Kii grumbled.

"It's the only lead we have…" Roxas said. "Is there anything else you can tell us? Maybe a specific port?"

Kii shook her head. "They did not mention numbers. However, the people who took me are armed and dangerous."

"I don't care."

"What do you plan on doing?" Kii asked, turning her attention to Pyra, who was listening to them talk. As the conversation progressed, you could see a slight flicker of hope enter her eyes.

"…"

Roxas paused again as he clenched his hands. This was the only lead they had, and if he wasted any more time on trying to form a plan, they might not make it in time. They would not resolve this peacefully. This was not like the situation at the manga store…no this was much worse. This time, Roxas would not show any mercy.

Suddenly, Pyra's and Kii's eyes widened as white aura began to seep off of Roxas's body. His entire body was engulfed in energy as it began to swirl around him.

"I will do everything in my power to save her…I will get Yukiko Back." Roxas said. "That's a promise."

Whipping his hand to the side, there was a flash of light before a weapon appeared in his hand. Both Kii and Pyra expected to see a familiar key-shape weapon, but they were surprised to see something a little different.

Instead of the usual gold hilt and skeleton key frame, this weapon was pure white with a bit of blue and gold on the head of the key. The handle flared out like a pair of wings and the head of the key was pronged with golden spikes.

All and all, it was a beautiful weapon.

"Roxas…what is that?" Pyra asked.

Roxas looked down at the new Keyblade in wonder, a single name echoing through his head. Sora had also acquired this weapon when he made a promise with Kairi.

"This is proof of my promise…" Roxas said, turning to face the two liminal. "The Oath keeper."

The two stared at the nobody. He almost looked angelic with how the white aura swirled around his body and the shining weapon grasped in his hand.

Slowly, Pyra tore her eyes away from the beautiful weapon and she shook her head, a small smile on her face. "You know Roxas, every time I think I have you figured out, you pull something like this." She said with amusement. "So, what's the plan now?"

The white energy slowly faded away, leaving Roxas with the Keyblade still I his hand. "I am going to Tokyo bay and I'm going to rescue Yukiko."

"I figured as much." Pyra said. "Well, you can bet your ass I'm coming too."

"It'll be faster if I use the corridor of darkness to get there." Roxas said. "You can't come with me."

"I'm not staying here." Pyra growled, leaving no room for arguing. "Yukiko is my friend too. It may not seem like it, but I'm just as worried as you…Besides." She said with a grin, slamming her furry fist into her palm, "I don't think anything would be more satisfying than beating the shit out of some traffickers."

"Won't you get in trouble for hurting humans?" Kii asked.

Roxas wanted to object, but after seeing his so fired up, he couldn't find it in himself to say no.

"Fine, but we need to hurry." He said before walking over to her. "It will be faster if I carry you."

"…Excuse me?"

"If I carry you, then we can get there faster."

"Are you saying I'm too slow?" Pyra growled, a clear edge on her voice.

Roxas grit his teeth, losing what little patience he had. He did not have time to argue. "It's either that or I'm leaving you here. I don't have time to wait for you and we aren't taking the train."

The hellhound was taken aback by his abrupt answer. She did feel a little insulted, but he was right. He was much faster than her and she would slow him down.

"Fine, whatever." Pyra agreed grudgingly.

"…Roxas." Kii said.

Roxas and Pyra looked over at the Dryad.

"I apologize, but I will not be accompanying you." She said sadly. "I would love nothing more to get back at the people who ripped me from my home, but without the forest, I'm powerless.

"It's ok Kii, I didn't really expect you to come with us."

Despite his words, the Dryad still looked a bit disappointed with herself.

* * *

"And then, she actually slapped him in the face…" Yukiko whispered.

"You can't be serious!" Piper whispered back, trying to keep her giggles as quiet as possible.

"Ar! Your friend sounds mighty gullible there." Mako agreed.

"Well, he can't really help it, he does have amnesia." Yukiko defended. It had been a few hours since the young Yeti had woken up. Since then, she had been playing a game of "Who can distract everyone from there situation with the best story" with her two new friends. She had to admit, even though she was still completely terrified, just talking and listening to the others was the only thing keeping her still sane.

But even though they put a strong front on, deep in the back of there minds, they understood their position. In fact, telling stories was probably having a worst effect on them because it was just a reminder that they would never have those experiences again.

"Your friend sounds pretty strong." Piper commented. "I don't want to sound pathetic, but any chance he might come save us?"

"…"

Yukiko didn't have a response to that as the lighthearted atmosphere took a nose dive. The problem did not lie in Roxas's strength, but in his lack of knowledge of where they were. "If Roxas knew where we were, I'd like to think he would come for me." She whispered finally. "I mean, when Kimihito was kidnapped, I remember Rachnee saying that he nearly killed her to get him back."

"Yar, that story was a good one. Hard to believe a kid be that strong though." Mako said somberly.

"Based on how many of your stories were about him, It sounds to me like you love the kid." Piper quipped playfully.

Yukiko's face turned bright red, though it could be seen by no one. Slowly her eyes drifted downward as they filled with tears again. "I…do" she said in a cracked voice. There was no reason to kid herself anymore.

"Yesh piper, you made the lass cry again!" Mako reprehended angrily.

"No, don't worry about it…" Yukiko said, sniffing once. "I just wish…I had more time. I mean, I only knew him, Pyra, Suu…Big Bro…Miia…and everyone in that house for…" She couldn't continue because the lump in her throat grew too large.

"Yeah, I know." Piper said, instantly regretting her word. "There are a lot of things I wish I told coach. I really wanted him to know how thankful I was that he put up with me after everything I put him through."

"Yeah, you and me both Matey." Mako agreed. "Nearly all the people that chum took care of were tossed overboard by their hosts, but chum never did."

Yukiko gave a sad laugh. "Sounds like big bro."

There crate gave a violent jerk, causing all three to go silent. It felt as if a crane on the outside was lifting there container off the ground and placing them somewhere.

"…I guess it's our turn…" Piper whispered, her voice on the edge of cracking.

* * *

Roxas was sprinting down the highway with Suu still surrounding his upper torso and Pyra latched on his back. They were moving incredibly fast, but Roxas couldn't help but feel that it wasn't fast enough. There was a weighing pressure on his mind that kept telling him he was going to be too late if he didn't kick it up a notch.

White energy wisps started circling around his body as those thoughts continued to circulate. So much so that Pyra began to notice.

"Roxas, what are you doing?" She called out.

Roxas didn't hear her because his thoughts were preoccupied by another matter. Most specifically, that if he didn't move faster, it would be too late. As he continued to focus on that thought, more light energy flowed off his being. Each step he took would burst with light activity.

"Roxas!" Pyra shouted, finding that his speed was increasing significantly. She was forced to hold on tighter as the wind whipped through her hair.

Again, Roxas didn't notice. "Faster…I have to get there Faster!"

Out of nowhere, the light energy burst to life, rocketing Roxas and Pyra forward like a bullet. Pyra was nearly knocked off the nobodies back, so she dug her claws into his coat in an attempt to hang on. They were gliding over the ground leaving a streak of light in their wake. Not only that, but from the light, pillars appear out of thin air and race in different directions, slamming into buildings and cars accidently.

"ROXAS!" Pyra shouted.

Roxas blinked his eye just in time to notice a car speeding directly towards them. His heart nearly stopped as he leaped to the side, allowing the car to sail past them while honking it's horn wildly. He skidded to a sudden halt, a few pillars of light shooting past them and ramming into a couple parked cars. Alarms sounded, blaring there warning into the night sky.

Pyra had her arms constricted painfully around the Nobodies neck as her breath came out in panicked heaves. "What the hell was that?" She yelled, bonking him on the head with her fist.

Roxas looked down at his hand where fragments of light were gently emitting. He didn't have a clue as to what it was, only that it would get him to his destination faster.

"I don't know…but I'm going to use it."

"Wait…" Pyra said, feeling a little panicked as she felt Roxas crouch down. "H-Hold on!"

Roxas did the exact opposite as he began to channel the light energy around his body again. "That's good advice…follow it."

"God Damn IT!" Pyra howled as she felt Roxas explode into movement. She barely had time to wrap her arms tightly around his neck as they flew through the city at an incredible speed. Each step seemed to propel them forward like a rocket, allowing them glide over the road. Had this been any other situation, it might have felt like flying. But finding that she was barely able to hold on, this was no time to enjoy the moment. "What the HELL ARE YOU ROXAS!?"

* * *

The night was dark, the full moon and a couple street lamps being the only source of light…that, and a streak of white that was racing down the streets. A few cars would have noticed them, but since it was so late at night, not many could be found. However, because of the Light dash, Roxas, Suu, and Pyra made it to Tokyo bay much quicker than expected.

When they did make it, Pyra jumped off Roxas's back and fell to her hands and knees, dry heaving on the ground.

"Damn it Roxas!" She cursed, trying to gain control over her stomach.

Roxas wasn't listening though because he was looking over the harbor, trying to find anything that would resemble trafficking activity.

Sadly, it was difficult to tell. There were countless boats loading off supplies into the hands of eager merchants. It was impossible to tell if the traffickers were even here at all, and if they were, which boats were there's? Did they blend in with the other merchants?

"Pyra, how are we supposed to find them here?" Roxas asked. "This port is huge!"

Pyra stopped dry heaving for a moment as she looked up at the nobody, a sour expression on her face. It didn't seem like the trip really winded him at all. But she could be jealous later. Instead, she stood up and walked over to the nobody. Her eyes narrowed as she too realized their predicament.

"I don't know. There are way too many boats too…" She trailed off before her head suddenly turned in a certain direction. She began sniffing the air wildly.

"What is it Pyra?"

"Quiet!" She snapped as she closed her eyes and took a deep inhale through her nose. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, a viscous growl rumbled through her throat. "I picked up a sent."

Roxas's eye widened, hope filling his chest. "You picked up Yukiko's sent?"

Pyra shook her head the negative, her paws clenched. "No…but I got the next best thing." She said as she turned towards a certain direction down the side of the bay, one that had much less activity. It was unusually dark in that area. So much so that you couldn't even see if boats were docking there.

Roxas followed her gaze. "What did you find?"

"I Picked up Akio's sent." Pyra growled.

The nobody felt his breath hitch in his throat as raging fury cursed through his veins. "You did? How?"

"Either he was stupid enough to take a shower, or the scent of gasoline diminished. It's faint, but I can distinguish his sent…and it's close."

Roxas clenched his fists again. "Then what are we waiting for?"

It was a few moments later that Roxas, Pyra, and Suu found themselves hiding atop a stack of shipping containers. They were looking down at the seemingly abandoned port. But now that they were closer, they realized it was far from abandoned.

Sure, all of the street lambs were off, but flashlights were illuminating the area as multiple people could be seen walking about. Not only that, but there were far more people than they realized.

The clincher however came when the three saw a group of people marching a few bound Liminal of different species to a shipping container before locking them inside. The moment they saw that, they knew this was the right place.

Roxas suddenly stood up, the Oath keeper appearing in his hand. He was on the verge of jumping down to help them, but Pyra grabbed his sleeve and dragged him back down just as the beam of a flashlight trailed over them.

"What are you doing you idiot?" She whispered, listening to be sure they weren't seen. She had a firm grip on his sleeve to prevent him from moving.

"What are you talking about? I was going to help them."

"They have guns Roxas!" She whispered back harshly. "This isn't like when you rescued big Bro. Kii told us they were armed and dangerous."

"So, what? I can defend myself against them." Roxas growled back.

"Yeah, you can…" Pyra said as she glanced over the edge of the shipping container. "But they can't…"

Roxas followed her gaze and saw another group of Liminal being shoved into more containers.

"If you rush down there and they open fire, you may end up killing a few Liminal on accident." She admonished. "That includes Yukiko."

Roxas felt his blood run cold at the thought of Yukiko accidently getting shot because of him. But not just her, the thought that some innocent Liminal might get killed because he acted hastily caused him to fight off the urge to rush down there.

"Then what should we do?"

"First of all, we should find Akio and figure out where Yukiko is being held." Pyra summarized.

Roxas nodded before glancing down at all the shipping container. He never realized this before, but Yukiko was not the only victim here. There were a Lot of other Liminal in the same position as her. "What about the rest of them?"

Pyra bit her lower lip. "We have to focus on one thing at a time." She said. "When we find out what happened to Yukiko, we can figure out a way to help the rest."

Slowly Roxas nodded. He didn't like that they had to ignore everyone else right now, especially since he could hear a few cries of help from the port below. But if he did rush down there to help them, they would lose their element of surprise and make the situation worse.

"Ok. Let's find Akio and get him to talk." Roxas hissed.

Hearing the tone in his voice, Pyra glanced over at the nobody with a small grin. "Oh? Do you have a plan to get him to talk?"

Roxas lightly tapped the slime on the inside of his coat. "I have an idea."

"That's what I like to hear." The hellhound said as she sniffed the air once more. "Follow me."

* * *

Akio was thinking about how today was a great day. He got away clean with kidnapping his tenant, met up with his other trafficking buddies, took a nice hot shower, and now he was about to take inventory of the haul.

A buyer from oversees had made a crazy good offer on Yukiko and she would be a massive paycheck for him. Not only that, but this haul on the full moon was probably the most successful one yet. And the best news was that nobody suspected a thing. Of even if they did, no one knew about their location on the abandoned side of Tokyo bay.

Akio took a step outside the main building and savored the warm night air. He then took a leisurely stroll around the side of the building before pulling out a cigarette. He took a nice deep puff before giving a satisfied sigh.

"Man, can this day get any better?" he asked himself cheerfully.

"I can think of a way."

Akio scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as he turned to look at the source of the voice. Instantly, his vision was filled with two people standing there. It was a bit dark, so he couldn't' really see who it was.

"And who the fuck are you supposed to b…?" he asked before he dropped his cigarette in sheer shock. His eyes adjusted to the darkness just enough to make out the faces of two people he didn't expect to see. He recognized them instantly. After all, you remember the faces of the two kids who are best friends with your paycheck.

Akio was about to scream a warning when Roxas suddenly whipped his hand forward and a blue, gelatinous appendage sprang from his sleeve and enveloped Akio's entire head in slime.

The man desperately clawed against it, but he couldn't get ahold of the slime. Instantly, he was pulled off his feet and into the shadows of the shipping crates, his muffled screams never heard by anyone.

Akio could do nothing as he was dragged by his head off to a more abandoned part of the harbor. His vision was starting to dim because of the lack of oxygen. Even as he tried to scream, only bubbles soundlessly escaped his mouth. He was just about to black out when he felt his back slam hard against one of the metal shipping crates. It did further to knock the remaining air out of his lungs. But just as he was about to pass out, he felt the slime retreat from his face.

Instantly, he inhaled air as if his life depended on it before coughing violently to get some of the slime out of his mouth. He was so preoccupied with his coughing fit that he didn't even realize his body was firmly plastered him to the side of the shipping crate by slime.

Soon, he recovered enough to look up at his captors.

Roxas and Pyra were standing there, deadly glares on their face as they looked at the helpless man.

Akio grit his teeth and attempted to reach for the gun at his side, but the slime suddenly contracted painfully around his body, keeping his arms firmly trapped where they were. He glanced down only to realize that his entire body was enveloped in slime, completely restricting any movement.

"What the fuck is this!" he growled angrily, struggling against whatever was keeping him secured. But after a couple moments of useless struggling, he realized there was no way to break free. So thinking fast, he attempted to take a deep breath in order to let out a cry for help, but as if the slime read his thoughts, it blue gelatin instantly crawled up his face. It covered his mouth instantly, causing him to accidently inhaled the fluid instead.

His body spasmed as he broke out in another violent coughing fit, trying to rid his lungs of any excess slime.

"Good Job Suu. Anytime he even thinks about screaming, make sure to fill his lungs." Roxas said darkly.

Akio felt a part of the gelatinous slime nod behind him while a cool feeler crawled up the side of his head, resting on his crown. He tried to turn his head, but that movement was also restricted. Again, he tried to take a deep breath in order to scream, but his face was once again covered in slime, causing him to nearly drowned himself. Is was as if the slime predicted his thoughts and acted accordingly.

His violent coughs were the only thing heard. His lungs and throat were on fire afterword's, but he seemed get the message that there was no way he could call for help. After struggling a bit more, Akio realized one thing.

There was no way to escape.

"Y-You guys are going to regret this!" He growled angrily, trying a different approach. "Liminal's aren't allowed to harm humans. Y-You're going to get deported…"

The man was cut off when Roxas summoned the Oath keeper and slammed it into his stomach. Akio attempted to scream out in pain, but the slime covered his mouth again, allowing only muffled bubbles to escape his throat.

After another coughing fit and wheezing for air, Akio gingerly looked up at the duo again. What he saw nearly scared the shit out of him.

Both Pyra and Roxas were looking down at him with no sympathy at all. There was no hesitation in their eyes. One thing was definitely clear right now. They would not hesitate to hurt or even torture him.

"Does it look like we give two shits about the rules." Pyra growled, raising her paw and extending her blood-red nails.

Akio felt his body start to tremble, but he instantly zipped his mouth shut. If nothing else, he was not going to give them anything.

"Akio, is Yukiko here?" Roxas asked.

"A-As if I'd tell you anything shithead." Akio growled back, putting on a strong front.

Seeing this, Pyra couldn't help but chuckle darkly. "Trying to play the tough guy huh? Please continue, cuz it will make this so much more fun."

"I'm not telling you anything!"

"That's fine, we don't need you too?" Roxas said, glancing over Akio's shoulder. "Well Suu?"

"Akio took Yukiko here." Suu's voice said over Akio's shoulder.

Instantly, Akio's eyes widened as he tried to turned his head to the slime, only he couldn't because she held him there firmly.

Roxas felt his heart hammer against his chest. Yukiko was here. There was hope.

"Awe man Roxas. Way to ruin my fun." Pyra said playfully before glaring at Yukiko's former host. "Where is she?"

"Go Fuck yourselves." Akio said, attempting to spit at them.

"They're too late anyway. Yukiko is already on the freighter and there's nothing these kids can do about it." Suu said in Akio's voice.

Again, Akio's eyes widened in shock as he tried to struggle against Suu's grasp. "What the HE-" He started, only to have his lungs filled with slime again. This left him a coughing mess once again.

Roxas's eyes widened in panic when he heard those words from Suu's mouth.

"Yukiko…is already on a ship?" He whispered before he clenched his hands.

"When did it leave?" Pyra growled. "How far away is it? And don't bother lying because it won't help you here."

After Akio was done with his violent coughing fit, he realized that they were somehow able to read his mind thanks to the slime. He had heard rumors of this ability, but never thought it to be true.

He glared up at the two kids, a sadistic grin on his face. "They just left. Too bad for you huh? You were just a few moments too late to save your friend. Now you will never see her again!"

Roxas didn't hear anymore as he leaped out of the shadows and to the top of the Shipping container, looking out at the port to see if there were any ships within view. He instantly saw one that was a small distance away from the port. He narrowed his eyes before he jumped back down.

"Well?" Pyra asked.

"One just took off." He told her, turning back to Akio. "Is that the one Yukiko is on?"

"Maybe?" Akio said with a dark grin.

"Suu?"

"It is." Suu confirmed.

"Damn you Slime." Akio growled, struggling against her. "It doesn't matter anyway. Even if you somehow get on that ship, there are armed guards everywhere."

"I don't care." Roxas said. "I will save her no matter what."

Akio paused for a moment before he started laughing, though not to loud because he didn't want his lungs full of slime again. "You dumb kids. You're way in over your head. This isn't some Hollywood movie where you are immune to bullets, these guys are professionals. They will kill you." He said as a sadistic grin crossed his face. "This port is filled with professionals that are keeping guard over every Liminal we capture. There is nothing you can do to save them. You will NEVER see Yukiko again. She will live the rest of her life as a slave and there is NOTHING you can do about-"

That was the last thing Akio said as the white body of the Oath keeper slammed into his face. His nose and cheekbones shattered, blood gushing from his nose as he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Suu let the body fall as she reformed herself and stood in front of Roxas and Pyra. "He was telling the truth. Suu could tell."

"We know." Pyra said as she turned to Roxas. She was a bit surprised to see that he had his cell phone out. "Roxas, is this really the time to make a phone call?"

"Yes." He said, letting the phone ring in his ear.

 _"_ _Roxas!"_

"Xion," Roxas said. "Are you at the house?"

 _"_ _Roxas! Where are you and Pyra? Smith called and informed Kimihito about what happened to Yukiko. He's freaking out right now because you two aren't home"_

"That's not important right now." Roxas said. "We need your help."

There was a small pause. _"What's going on?"_

"I don't have time to explain. I'm sending you our coordinates so can you use the corridor of darkness to meet up with Pyra and Suu? They will fill you in."

There was another small pause. " _Um…O-Ok..."_

"Also, tell Kimihito to give Smith a call and tell her to get to Tokyo bay as fast as she can."

 _"_ _I understand…But what's going on? Did you find Yukiko?"_

"Yeah…but this is a lot bigger than we thought. We are going to need as much help as we can." Roxas finished.

 _"_ _Ok, give me a few minutes and I will get there using the Corridor."_

"Thanks." Roxas said as he hung up the phone.

"Roxas, what are you planning on doing?" Pyra asked. "Why did you say Suu and I will fill her in?"

"Because you two are staying here while I rescue Yukiko." Roxas said, clicking a few buttons on his phone and sending Xion his coordinates.

"A-are you out of your damn mind?" Pyra whispered angrily. "You are going alone? Didn't I tell you that Yukiko is our friend too? You can't just leave us here."

"Suu agrees with Pyra." Suu said, a small frown on her face.

"This is bigger than we thought." Roxas said, turning off his phone and looking at his two friends. "Yukiko isn't the only one who needs our help now. You, Suu, and Xion need to help the ones that are still here. I can reach Yukiko's boat using the corridor, but I can't take you with me."

"But Suu can go with you. Suu can fight." Suu exclaimed.

Roxas reached over and patted her head. "But you need to stay here and help Xion and Pyra. Please Suu, there are a lot of Liminal here that need you."

"Suu~" Suu whined.

"So you're going there alone then? Why can't Xion go with you." Pyra hissed.

"Xion needs to stay here so she can use her Keyblade to open the shipping crates."

"Wait…Xion can use the Keyblade?"

"That's a long story."

There was a long pause before Pyra gave a sigh. "Alright, but only know I am agreeing with this crazy plan because we don't have a choice."

"Thanks, Pyra."

"Suu~" Suu groused with worry as she reached up and tangled her feeler around his arm.

Roxas looked over at her before gently rubbing the appendage. "I will be fine Suu. Please protect Pyra and Xion for me. They aren't immune to bullets."

"Suu~" Suu whined again as she approached him and leaned forward, gently planting her face in the crook of his neck and wrapping him in a hug. Her feeler stretched up and rested upon his head again, allowing him to feel how worried she was. They stayed like that only for a few seconds before she pulled away. "Please be safe Roxas."

"I will."

Pyra approached the nobody and grabbed him by the collar. "Bring Yukiko back, you hear?" She said, roughly planting her lips on his cheek. "And come back safe while you're at it."

"Y-yeah." Roxas stuttered, hesitating for just a few seconds before jumping up on top of the shipping crate. The Carrier was still within sigh, so he stretched forth his hand and summoned the Corridor of darkness before walking through.

* * *

Waves crashed against the freighter as Roxas exited the corridor of darkness. He nearly lost his balance because of how steeply the ship swayed. Taking a look around, he realized that he was lucky enough to teleport to a place where no one was around…or at least that's what he thought until he heard a few voices coming from around one of the shipping crates.

Instantly he dove into the shadows in order to avoid detection just as a few men walked around the and passed by him. The nobody remembered Akio saying that the guards were armed.

He didn't really worry about the bullets because he had a couple spells in his arsenal that would protect him, but he remembered what Pyra said. He might be able to defend himself, but the innocent Liminal couldn't. A stray bullet could easily hit one of them if they were out in the open…

Blinking a few times, an idea formed in his mind. Looking up at one of the shipping crates, he leaped up and landed on the top, surveying the area and trying to get an idea of what he was up against. He pulled up his hood and crouched low so no one could see him as he continued to look around.

True to Akio's words, there were men walking around, armed with guns. However, most of them were acting casual, as if none of them expected any interference. No one was paying close attention to anything…except the ones who were guarding the border of the ship.

As Roxas continued to look around, his suspicions were confirmed.

Not a single Liminal was out in the open. Which meant all of them were probably in the metal shipping containers that were loaded on the freighter.

And if they were, there was no way a bullet would be able to pierce the hard metal.

Clenching his fist, the Oath Keeper appeared in his hand. If there was no risk to any innocent, then there was no reason for him to hold back any more. He didn't care if the traffickers on the boat got killed by a stray bullet. In fact, he didn't care about there lives in the slightest. If they were planning on doing something so disgusting as selling off his friend, or any other person for that matter, then they didn't deserve to live…they didn't deserve to exist. He would kill them, Kimihito's promise be damned.

Carefully, Roxas leaped onto another Shipping crate in order to get a better idea of the situation. Staying crouched down, he surveyed the area, counting a number of people on the large ship. Some were walking around the shipping containers while other surveyed the border. Currently, they were all too spread out for him to use the Stop spell effectively. Not only would that drain his magic, which he knew he would need, but he wouldn't have time to disarm them all with one spell.

That's when an idea came to the nobody. As carefully and quietly as he could, he leaped from each shipping crate, trying to find a decent location for him to exact his plan. It didn't take long for him to find the perfect place.

Roxas found himself looking over the edge of a shipping crate near the center of the ship. There was a small clearing where a group of people were sitting around a wooden box, playing a game of poker. They were laughing and drinking away without a care in the world. In fact, they were so careless that it made Roxas sick. It looked as if they didn't give two shits about what they were doing. They just carried on as if their actions were a simple part of the daily lives.

Just seeing that, Roxas knew he was not going to regret his next action.

Carefully, he stood up and pointed the Oath Keeper down at the group.

"Fira."

* * *

Pyra and Suu had yet to move from there spot after Roxas left. They were waiting for Xion to show up since they didn't think it would be a good idea for them to be gone when she arrived. They did move to the top of the empty shipping container so they could watch the freighter move further and further into the distance. It was a stressful feeling though, as if watching two of their best friends drift further away while they could do nothing about it.

Not only was it infuriating, but the worry was making both Liminal extremely anxious.

Luckily, they were distracted when the corridor of darkness suddenly appeared behind them. They turned to the darkness right before it disappeared, leaving a familiar girl standing there in a black coat.

"Xion." Pyra sighed in relief. "What took you so long?"

Xion blinked a couple times as she looked around. "Where's Roxas?"

"Over there." Suu said, pointing to the ship in the distance.

"The Ship?" She asked, getting a nod from the two. "W-What's going on? Why is he over there? Where are we?"

"That's a long story, so I will give you the short version." Pyra said. "Yukiko was kidnapped and taken on the ship. Roxas went to go save her, but She is not the only one in trouble. There are a lot more Liminal that were Kidnapped that are still in the area. Since the ship already left, we made the choice to let Roxas go after her while we help the ones who are trapped here."

That was a very brief explanation, but Xion seemed to get the gist of it. "I told Kimihito what Roxas told me. He was in the middle of Calling Smith when I left." She said. "But if Smith does come, she won't make it here for a while."

"Well, Shit." Pyra cursed as she glanced over at another ship in the process of being loaded with Shipping crates. "We don't have time to wait that long. If more freighters leave the harbor, then we won't be able to do anything."

Suu nodded as she threw another glance at the ship that Roxas was on. It was sinking further into the distance. "Do you think Roxas will be ok?"

 _BOOM_

An explosion ripped through the air. Everyone at the harbor turned their attention towards the sound before they saw a small stream of smoke drift up from the ship in the distance. The faint sound of screaming voices could be heard in the night sky, which they could only guess was from the ship's crew.

"…I think the only ones we should worry about is everyone else on that ship." Xion commented.

"Humph, they have no sympathy from me. I hope Roxas gives em' Hell." Pyra retorted.

"What about us? What are we going to do?" Xion asked, trying to ignore the second…much louder explosion that was soon followed by the sound of gunshot.

Pyra glanced down at the port, noticing that the racket Roxas was causing had drawn the attention of nearly everyone at the port. They were standing near the edge of the water, pointing and shouted at the freighter as more smoke began to rise from the ship into the sky.

"I have a plan…" She said. "Xion, how good is your magic?"

* * *

Roxas's plan went exactly as he hoped. The blast created by his fire spell completely obliterated the makeshift table and sent the men flying. They howled in pain as their skin charred over with second and third decree burns while their bodies were thrown helplessly through the air.

Instantly, the entire ship erupted with chaos. Nearly everyone on board rushed to the scene, completely confused as to what happened. Others rushed to the aid of those who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the initial blast, trying desperately to quell the screaming cries of those effected. A few were looking around wildly for what might have caused the explosion.

Roxas crouched low to the shipping crate, watching as a group of people gathered around the scorched area of the deck. Some were asking around, wondering if the men were playing with some flammable material, while others were looking for some kind of gas leak.

The Nobody didn't care either way as he simply observed a majority of the people stand in close proximity to the scorched area. Even most of the men who were supposed to patrol the border of the ship were standing there amongst the crowd. Nearly everyone was gathered together now.

Like a moth to the flame.

Perfect.

Roxas stood tall and pointed his Keyblade at the group of people.

"Hey! There's someone up there! Who's that?" A few voices shouted, pointing to where Roxas was standing. Instantly, most of the crowd turned toward him, guns raised. "Who are you? You better talk before we shoot!"

Roxas didn't bother responding. He didn't see a need because most of these people would be dead after tonight. He simply felt the white energy circle around his body once again, filling his very being with magical power.

"Holy shit! Is that a Liminal? What's he doing?" Someone shouted.

"Who cares, shoot him!"

Roxas didn't pause any more as he focused a huge portion of his magic into this one spell.

"Firaga!"

The effects were immediate as an enormous ball of fire erupted from the Keyblade. The Crew members could do nothing but scream in horror as it sailed towards them, exploding in their midst in all its fiery glory.

Some of the men managed to get a few shot off before there bodies were blasted in all directions, but Roxas was long gone before the spell even hit. Fire spewed up from the impact zone, scorching bodies in it's unforgiving flame while the sheer impact smashed a hole right through the deck. Men were thrown in all directions, there firearms prematurely discharging from the sheer heat.

Screams echoed through the night sky, a testament to the truly horrific scene that presented itself in front of Roxas as he walked from around the corner of one of the shipping crates.

Charred limbs, burned bodies, and blood littered the deck. The entire scene was gory and gruesome, creating a huge shock factor for those who were fortunate enough to not be hit directly with the spell.

None of it affected the nobody. This was exactly what he wanted and he wasn't going to let an opening like this go. Before the remaining crew had a chance to regain their composure, Roxas bolted past the shipping containers, using the light dash to shoot directly at the first person in his line of sight. His light trails erupted with multiple pillars of light that shot off in different directions, slamming into random people like homing misses and rag dolling their bodies off the ship.

Roxas raised his Keyblade and swung it like a baseball bat, shattering ribs and sending the crew member flying off and screaming out in pain.

The only remaining crew were either on a higher level, or were below the deck. The ones on the higher level had their attention drawn to the noise and desperately tried to gain some semblance of sanity. They aimed their guns at nobody, ready to shoot.

Roxas looked up, instantly crossing the Oath Keeper in front of his body before gauging how much magic he had left. Thankfully, the new Keyblade seemed to give him quiet, so he had plenty to spare.

"Reflect"

Several members of the crew unloaded multiple clips at the hooded intruder, only to have their bullets ricochet off a barrier. Multiple explosions rippled through the ship, erupted around Roxas's body as per effect of the spell that sent even more crew members flying off in different directions.

The explosions also rocked the ship violently against the waves, carving holes in the deck and walls. People were nearly rocked off balance as the ship began to sway back and forth.

Again, Roxas didn't waste any time as she sped off through the ships cabin, slashing and slicing through anyone he saw. To them, he seemed like a white blur of death, shooting up the stairs and hacking away at anyone who got in his way. Gun were useless as a barrier seemed to nullify any projectile, while causing even more damage to the ship.

As he raced around the interior of the ship, Roxas noticed that there were a few rooms on the inside of the ship. He saw people leaving them in order to find how what was going on. Some of them even tried to retreat back into there rooms when they saw him mowing down enemies.

One brave man tried to surprise the nobody by concealing himself within one of the rooms. He leaped out with a knife just as Roxas was about to pass, but the older man's movement were slow. Roxas swung his Keyblade and snapped the limb like a twig. The crew member screamed in agony before another swing cracked along the side of his head.

The nobody slowly shook his head, looking down at the body without remorse. He was about to continue sieving through the ship when a quiet sound halted him in his tracks.

 _SOB…_

He stopped cold before slowly turning to look into the room. It was a bit dark, but a single florescent light from the celling illuminated the room in a dim glow.

 _SOB…_

Again, a small cry caught his attention, making him turn and enter the room. The sound grew a little louder until Roxas found himself standing near a small bed, staring down at a lone figure laying there.

He felt sick.

On the bed was a Liminal woman, easily a decade older than himself. She looked nearly human, except for the horns on her head and her pointed ears. Her long black hair was a matted mess and her darkly tanned skin was bruised and bleeding in certain places. Her clothing was also ripped and barely hanging onto her body.

She was laying on her side, her arms covering her face from view as she cried quietly.

The nobody had no idea what to do. It was so much easier when he was just cutting through enemies, but now he was facing someone who didn't seem like part of the crew. No, this was a victim.

But what had they done to her?

Carefully, he reached down and gently touched the woman's shoulder. She instantly recoiled like he burned her with a branding iron. Her arms violently batted his hand away and she faced him.

Again, Roxas felt like he was going to be sick. Her face had cuts and bruises. One of her eyes was swollen shut. Her lower lip was bleeding and her one visible eye was bloodshot and brimming with tears. She had nothing but fear as she looked up at him.

For a brief moment, Roxas swore he saw Yukiko sitting in front of him instead of this woman. The Yeti's normally cheerful face bruised and bloodied from abuse, her usually white fur now saturated with splotches of blood, and the happy, playful twinkle in her eyes replaced with nothing but horror.

The image only lasted for a second, but it was enough to further fuel the Nobodies rage. He had the Oath keeper clenched so hard that his fingers were numbing. He simply could not believe that people could do this...

The woman scooted away from him until her back was against the wall. Just the way she was looking at him really made the young boy want to puke. He hated the way she stared at him, as if he was the most horrifying thing in the world.

"I-It's ok…I'm not hear to hurt you." Roxas said, trying to say anything that would make her not look at him that way.

The woman didn't look convinced in the slightest. She just stared at him, trying to make herself as small as possible. She even flinched at the sound of his voice. It didn't help that she could barely see his face either because of the hood.

Roxas didn't dare move because he could tell that it would only make things worse. He continued standing there, trying to think of anything to say that would convince her that he was on her side. That's when he noticed her eyes dart past his hooded face and over his shoulder, widening ever so slightly.

Instantly, his battle instincts roared at him to dodge. The nobody ducked just in time for a blade to swing over his head, catching the fabric of his hood. He had been so preoccupied that he didn't even realized someone was hiding in the shadows of the room.

He rolled to the side and leaped to his feet only to see a glint of steel swinging down at him from above. The nobody jumped back and looked up, only to see a large man standing there. A long KA-BAR knife was in his grasp and he was crouched down in a defensive position.

The moment the crew member was in view, the woman let out a small, frightful cry. She scooted away, pressing her back against the wall as hard as she could. Her eyes were no longer on Roxas, but on the man who was now in view.

And if Roxas thought the way she was looking at him was bad, the sheer terror in her eyes when they fell on this man was on a whole new level. There was only a slit second of confusion before realization hit the nobody like a bullet train. He clenched the Oath Keeper tighter in his grip.

No words were said as the man suddenly charged at Roxas, but the nobody was faster. He sped towards the much taller man just as he was swinging his knife. Roxas deflected the blow with his Keyblade, scattering sparks around the room before he quickly slammed the point of his Keyblade into the crew man's stomach, sending him flying backwards and hitting the wall behind him. Roxas waisted no time in dashing forwards striking the man's hand. A sickening crunch echoed through the room as the crew member dropped his weapon.

Before the crew member could howl in agony, Roxas grabbed him by his mouth and slammed his head into the wall. The man was still conscious, but barely. His muffled screams were the only thing heard through the fabric of Roxas's glove.

Roxas held the man there before looking over at the woman, who was scooted as far away from the man as possible, staring at him with fear. It was all the confirmation that he needed.

"You…did this to her?"

The crew member slowly reached up with his un-broken hand and tried to pry Roxas off, but the nobody simply slammed the back of his head against the wall again. That firmly put an end to any resistance.

Truth be told, he could have knocked this guy out a long time ago, or even killed him…but there was something on the Nobody's mind. And there was a perfectly willing person in front of him who could answer his questions…

Kind of…

"Why?"

The crew member's eyes were spinning, but he managed to look up at Roxas with narrowed eyes. Slowly, Roxas released the man's mouth so he could speak.

"You fucking brat! I'll make sure to GUT you for…"

Roxas grabbed the man by the forehead and slammed the back of his head against the wall again. The crew member gasped sharply in pain before slumping to the ground again.

"Why?"

"Why what? What the fuck are you… _SLAM_ …OWCH FUCK!"

"Why did you do this?"

"Do What?" the man growled.

Roxas slowly looked over at the woman on the bed. Her expression didn't change at all. She simply watched as Roxas beat the snot out of this guy.

"Why did you do this to her?" Roxas asked. Truly, he wanted to know. He wanted to know what would drive someone to do something like this. How could someone completely ignore the suffering they caused someone else…and then go beyond that? What was the point?

There crew member didn't answer so Roxas tightened his grip, squeezing the man's temples before he cried out in pain.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGH!" he screamed. "Ivan said we could have some fun after we left the bay!"

"fun…"

"Yes fun-OUCH, WHAT THE FUCK! LET GO!" the man howled as Roxas increased his grip on the man's face. He tried to grab Roxas's arm again, but the nobody slammed him against the wall again…particularly harder this time.

"Fun…" Roxas parroted, an empty tone in his voice as he pulled back the man's head.

"S-Stop…" The crew member grunted.

"You think it's FUN!" Roxas Roared as he slammed his head against the wall, completely missing the sound of a crack that echoed through the room. "It's FUN to kidnap my friends? It's FUN to beat people up? All of this is FUN TO YOU?"

The crew member didn't respond. In fact, the arm that was trying to pry Roxas off fell to the ground.

"How IS THIS FUN! HOW DO YOU GET ENJOYMENT OUT OF THIS! ANSWER M-" Roxas shouted before he noticed a trail of blood leaking out of the back of the man's head. Slowly, Roxas let the man go only to see the whites of his eyes.

He was dead.

…

Roxas paused for a moment again before he let the man fall to the ground. There was a small splatter of blood where he kept slamming his head against the wall.

Slowly, Roxas stood up. The only thing he regretted was not getting more answers to his questions. He had no sympathy for the life he took. After all, why would he?

He glanced over at the bed again, noticing that the woman was staring down at the man as if she couldn't believe her eyes. Then slowly, those eyes turned back to him. It was easy to read her face.

She was afraid of him.

Closing his eyes, he turned away from the woman and exited the room. He couldn't stand the look she was giving him. He couldn't stand looking at her and seeing how much she suffered when she didn't deserve it.

Would Yukiko have suffered the same fate?

"Ivan…huh…" Roxas murmured, trying to focus his mind on something else. He took off down the corridors of the ship again. "You need to disappear…"

* * *

"What the Fuck is going on out there!" Captain Ivan exclaimed through the ship radio.

"Captain! We are under attack! The ship it under attack by-AUGGGG!"

"Hey! Answer me! What's attacking us!" The captain shouted, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. "Someone answers me! Who's attacking us! How many?"

"AHG! There he is, Shoot him!" Multiple voices and gunfire echoed through the radio before more explosions rocked the ship. Screams resounded through the radio before another line went dead.

"How many!"

"Sir! It's just one! It looks like single Limin-Hey get away from me! NO-" The voice was cut off when the sound of bone meeting metal resonated in the mic, followed by another line going dead.

Again, the captain was horrified. It was as if something was rushing through his crew and destroying all of them. Who had the capabilities to do this? His men were trained and armed to handle any interruption to their business. Heck, not even authorities had the manpower to stop him at such short notice.

Soon, all of the lines went dead, but that didn't stop Ivan from trying to communicate with anyone on the other end of the ship radio.

Suddenly, there was a bang on his steel door. The captain dropped the radio and turned to it, a drip of nervous sweat tricking down his face as he clenched the revolver in his hand.

The door dented and warped as another forceful blow slammed into it. The captain waited, ready to fire the moment someone broke down the door. There was a brief pause before a soft sound echoed through the room.

 _Click_

The captain blinked owlishly as the door lock suddenly…unlocked.

But rather than someone gently opening the door, it was blasted off its hinges, flying into the room. Captain Ivan only had time to dive out of the way just as the door crashed into the place where he was standing.

He ground his teeth and he turned his attention to the soul person standing there. What he saw could have been something out of his worst nightmares.

Standing in the doorway was a lone person in a black coat. Based on his size and stature, it was someone young. But that did not distract the captain from shuttering in fear because the persons coat was drenched in blood. Wisps of white energy flowed like a river off his body. The hood that covered the boy's head cast a dark shadow around his face. But the most frightening part were the two icy orbs that gazed at the captain from under the hood.

Those eyes reflected absolutely nothing. No remorse for the destruction he caused, no regret for the lives he took, no fear of the revolver in the captain's grasp.

No, those eyes only had one objective. Any other concerns were completely disregarded.

Captain Ivan raised his gun, but the boy reached back with his strange weapon and swung forward. Instantly, a pillar of light shot at the older man and slammed into the arm, breaking his hold on the gun as well as shattering the bone.

The man screamed out in agony as pain seared through his shoulder. He cradled his appendage as it was bent in an odd angle. The boy waisted no time in dashing over and ramming the weapon across his torso. The captain slammed back against the wall, gasping for air before he was blindsided by a blow to the head.

He collapsed on the ground, his head dripping blood from his temple. His eyes were swimming, but he was able to look up to see a pair of cold eyes looking down at him.

"W-What do you want? Who are you?" Captain Ivan hissed through clenched teeth, blood seeping through his lips.

"…" The boy didn't say anything as he approached, the white energy from the boy's body twisting around more violently.

"I-Don't come near me. You're a Liminal, you can't hurt a Huma-AGUUU!" The Captain screamed as the boy slammed his weapon against the captain's other shoulder, leaving it broken, dislocated and completely useless.

"You…" The boy seethed, seeing the man riot in pain. "You're Ivan, right?"

"What are you talking about-AGUE!" The older man hollered as the boy crushed his kneecap with his Weapon.

"You kidnapped all these Liminal…You were the reason Yukiko was Kidnapped." The Boy said, nothing but pure hatred in his voice.

"That's a lie! Have no idea what you're accusing me off-AGUEE!" His other kneecap shattered with another swing.

"Don't lie to me!" The boy yelled, the white energy erupting more from his body. "Why did you do all of this!? Why did you Kidnap them?"

By this time, Ivan was squirming around in pain. He opened his mouth again to say something when both he and the boy heard the sound of rushing footsteps rushing towards the cabin.

The boy turned to the entrance and simply pointed the strange weapon at it. The moment a small group of bloodied crew members saw their captain laying there with the boy standing over him, they cocked their weapons.

"CAPTAIN IVAN!"

"What are you waiting for! SHOOT HIM!" The captain roared.

"Blizzara"

Only A single trigger was pulled before a blue projectile erupted from the boy's weapon, hitting the first crew member standing there in the entrance. Instantly, his body imploded with ice spikes, goring and slicing through anyone who was unfortunate to be close enough. The ice then blasted outward, completely sealing the doorway shut.

"Ugh."

Roxas clenched his eyes closed as pain seared through his shoulder. That single crew member managed to get a shot in before the spell was cast. The Nobody had been so focused on the person in front of him that he made a mistake of not reacting fast enough.

Blood flowed freely from his shoulder, but it wasn't hit anything vital. Might as well save what little magic he had left in case Yukiko else needed healing. After all, he didn't see her anywhere on the ship.

Turning back to the captain, he saw the man's face turn ghost white in horror. His body was fidgeting every so often because of the amount of bones Roxas broke.

Captain Ivan stared at the bloody massacre in shock before he slowly turned to the boy who was responsible. His blood ran cold as those crystal blue eyes turned in his direction. There was no hesitation in this eye, no remorse for taking so many lives in an instant, just cold and unrestrained fury.

"P-Please don't kill me." Ivan whimpered. "I have money, I have a lot of money. I will give you anything you want…so please don't kill me."

"I will ask you again…" Roxas said, a deadly chill to his voice. "Why did you kidnap my friend."

The captain was so scared for his life that he soiled himself. He could only guess that the friend he was talking about was part of the haul they gathered today. He didn't want to answer that question, but when he saw the Keyblade being raised in front of him, he folded like a bad poker hand.

"Money."

The moment those words left his throat, the captain felt like his life was over. The sheer anger that the boy was giving off was beyond frightening.

"Money…" The boy whispered in disbelief. "Because of money you kidnapped my friend and tried to sell her…She…She didn't do anything wrong…and you tried to sell her for…money"

It was more of a statement than a question. The sheer disbelief in his voice was enough to know that Ivan had forfeit his life. His hatred completely saturated the room as he raised his Keyblade,

"W-Wait! WAIT! Don't you see? I run a business, one that pays really well! Money can buy anything! I can give you anything! You want your friend? Take her! Take her and let me live!"

"Money can buy anything huh?" Roxas asked, holding the Keyblade above his head for a few seconds, his eyes narrowed. "It can't buy your life. You don't deserve to live." He said, his eyes narrowing further. "You…don't deserve to exist." He finished as he brought the Keyblade down.

"NOOOOO!"

* * *

Whatever Roxas was doing on that ship was drawing quite a spectacle. From flashes of white light to actual explosions, nearly everyone at the port was drawn to the nearest edge of the docks to watch.

Even Pyra, Xion, and Suu were watching, their eyes wide with wonder at how they could whiteness it from this distance.

But this also gave them a serious advantage.

Pyra tore her eyes away from the scene and looked down at the group of traffickers who were pointing at the carrier in the distance, leaving there backs wide open.

"Xion, how good is your magic again?" She whispered.

"A lot better than Roxas's. I even managed to teach him a few things."

"Good, now…" She said as she looked back at the traffickers, who were oblivious to their location. "Are you ready."

"You can count on me."

"Suu, are you ready too?" Pyra continued.

"Suu is ready." Suu responded.

"Great, not get into positions."

"Right." Xion agreed as she disappeared in the Corridor.

Pyra and Suu lowered themselves to the ground before scooping out the area for anyone who was not distracted by the freighter in the distance. There were only a couple of them though, mostly those who were hauling off a few Liminal.

"Get ready for the signal Suu." Pyra whispered to the slime. They both turned their attention to the docks.

Since nearly everyone was preoccupied with watching the activity on the ship, none of them noticed as a black corridor of darkness suddenly appeared behind them. Nor did they notice a figure standing there with a key-shaped weapon pointed into the air.

A large amount of magical energy began to swirl around Xion before she called out her spell.

"Aeroga."

Instantly, wind erupted from her Keyblade, twisting angrily around her body before rapidly expanding and slamming into the unsuspecting group of people. As predicted, many were thrown off their feet and head first into the ocean. Wind continued to kick up, catching everyone completely unprepared as it too sent them flying into the cold waters.

It wasn't an instant later that the entire port erupted with activity. The people that weren't affected by the wind were looking around frantically, trying to figure out what happened.

Now that a majority of the people were in the water, Xion raised her Keyblade once again.

"Thundaga."

The entire night sky lit up as lighting fell and slammed into the ocean with all the people in it. Instantly, all who were in the water started screaming in pain as electricity coursed through their bodies. Soon, the entire bay was fill with the smell of burnt flesh.

The others who were still on shore could only watch in horror as their comrades were basically tortured by the electricity.

"Brutal, but I like it." Pyra whispered as she saw someone running over to Xion with a fully loaded gun. This was perfect because the show Xion put on was drawing out the remainder of the trafficker. "Now to pick off the stragglers."

As another trafficker rounded the corner, Pyra leaped down from a large shipping crate and slammed right on top of him. She then proceeded to beat his face into hamburger.

"HEY! There's one right there!"

Pyra turned to see three more guys behind her, all with fully loaded guns. Her eyes widened a little because she failed to notice others behind the guy she ambushed.

"KILL IT!"

"SHIT!" Pyra yelled as she ducked down and covered her head. Luckily, Suu landed between then and expand her body like a sheet of jelly. The bullets sunk into her like quicksand as she completely observed them.

The Traffickers continued to fire, filling up the slime with ammunition. It wasn't until they needed to reload that they realized how useless their guns were.

Pyra looked up and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the save Suu."

"Suu is angry." Suu said, her happy voice gone. "They will pay for trying to hurt Suu's friends."

Suddenly, Suu inhaled an ungodly amount of air, filling her gelatin body with bullets and oxygen. She then closed her mouth, sealing the air inside before pointing her fingers and the men.

What happened next really blew the hellhounds mind. The air inside Suu seemed to compress, building up pressure behind the bullets that were still trapped in her body. Then without so much as a warning, those bullets blasted out of her fingertips like a makeshift tommy-gun.

The men screamed and ducked for cover as Suu continued to rain bullets on them. Sure, it wasn't as powerful as gunpowder, but it did the trick.

"Wow…" Pyra whispered in wonder.

It didn't take long before Suu was completely out of Ammo. She turned to the hellhound and wrapped a feeler around her wrist.

"We have to run! There are too many."

"Stop right there!"

Pyra and Suu saw another guy turn around a corner, pointing a rifle at them. Suu was about to jump in front of Pyra again, but the glint of a key-shaped weapon beat her to it.

The man crumbled to the ground and Xion stood there in his place. She quickly gestured to them to follow, which they did instantly.

"There are to many of them left." Xion said as they raced across the port.

"Shit! I didn't think this operation would be this big." Pyra replied. "If we keep this up, then other Liminal might get hurt."

"Then what do we do?"

Pyra paused for a few moments, listening to the sound of people shouting across the harbor. Her eyes widened a bit when she realized that there was a group in front of them. They screeched to a halt before quickly turning, only to find their backside was also occupied with Traffickers.

"There cutting us off!" Pyra said just as the men pointed their guns at them.

"End of the line." One of the men said with a victorious grin. All of the men pointed their guns at them. "I don't know what's going on, but you Liminal aren't in chains, so I'm guessing it's your fault."

They didn't answer. Xion was building up her magic to cast a protection spell, but eventually her magic would run out. Suu was thinking along the same lines, but she didn't now if she could protect them for a long period of time either.

"Nothing to say?" The man said, growling at them. "You killed a lot of my friends in that ocean. Now you're going to pay!"

"Not quite…"

Suddenly, everyone that surrounded Xion, Pyra, and Suu burst into flames. There screams echoed through the night and they fired their guns in all directions. Luckily, Xion had just enough magic left to cast reflect in order to protect the three of them. There bullets ricochet off the shield and caused explosions that kicked up the dust around them.

"Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs." A voice suddenly said behind them.

All three turned to see a figure standing there in a black coat. His fiery red hair and teal eyes were unmistakable.

"Axel!" Xion exclaimed, rushing up to the nobody and giving him a hug around the midsection.

"Man, you started the party without me?" Axel drawled, reaching down and ruffling Xion's hair. "Why did I get the late invite? Heck, I only knew about this through smith. That hurts Xion, cut me real deep."

"Where the hell did you come from?" Pyra asked, looking around wearily at the traffickers, who were running around on fire. "And is now really the time for Banter?"

"No one likes a party pooper." Axel said, turning to the hellhound. "And the Corridor is an amazing thing. But now that I'm here, we can have some real fun…"

Suddenly, Fire Chakrams exploded into existence. The surrounding area seemed to heat up by a few degrees as axel clasped them in his hands.

"Why are you here?" Xion asked.

"Smith sent me ahead of the group, just to make sure you guys are all right." Axel replied. "But we'll get into that later. Don't we have a trafficking business to thwart?"

"Right…" Pyra said, clearly confused at the entire turn of events. She had only met Axel once before and she only knew that he was a figure from Roxas's and Xion's past. They trusted him, and that would have to be enough for now.

She didn't know he could control fire though.

"Well, let's hunt these guys down then. Y'know, wrap this whole thing up like a present before Smith shows up. She is a bit stingy about killing people."

"That's pretty heartless of you…" Pyra jabbed, but didn't disagree.

"Obviously, never had one to begin with. That's what makes a nobody?" Axel said, shooting her a grin. "Got it memorized?"

* * *

"Roxas slowly walked down the stairs in the direction of the docks. His magic was nearly spent, having used most of it protecting himself from lethal firearms. He cursed himself for not paying attention and getting himself shot once. But considering the amount of times he was shot at, it was lucky that only one managed to hit him.

He did use a lower level Cure spell to stop the bleeding, but the pain in his shoulder was still there. Bullet wounds still hurt like a bitch.

Still, that did little to stop him as he approached the shipping containers that were stack on one other. After running through room after room, he did not see any other Liminal aside from…the first one… which meant this was the last place to look.

There were about 20 containers in total, which was quite a few. Each of them had a padlock that firmly secured the door.

Slowly, Roxas approached the first container and pointed the Oath keeper at it. A beam of light shot into the lock before the padlock clicked open and fell to the ground. He reached over, lifted the hatch and pulled the steel doors open.

What he saw inside nearly made him sick again.

There were about ten Liminal in there of different species, all strapped to the metal walls of the shipping container with thick metal braces. Every one of them had bags on their heads and some even had bruises and cuts on their bodies.

As soon as he opened the door, all heads turned toward him and a few let out whimpers of terror while trying to scoot away. It was more than he could handle. The scene was so disgusting that he could not fathom as to why money would be worth something like this.

He glanced around, looking for any sign of the one he came here for. He surveyed the container, but didn't find anyone who had Yukiko's fluffy white hair.

Still, that didn't mean he wasn't going to help the others. With a flick of his wrist, several beams of light erupted from the tip of the Oath keeper and hit the locks that held the Liminal hostage. He then turned away, barely getting a glimpse of a few Liminal freeing themselves and ripping the bags off their heads while looking around in terror and confusion.

He moved to another shipping crate as voices began to echo from the previous one.

 _"_ _What's going on?"_

 _"_ _We're free? But how?"_

 _"_ _I don't know, the lock just came off."_

 _"_ _I don't care how, we have to get out of here!"_

 _"_ _Did you guys see that hooded guy? He was covered in blood!"_

Roxas didn't hear the rest and he didn't care to either. He turned to the next shipping crate and unlocked it with his Keyblade before pulling it open.

This time there were nine Liminal. They were in the same exact situation as the ones in the previous container. Again, he surveyed the group without finding any trace of Yukiko. Flicking his wrist, the Keyblade unlocked all shackles that bound the Liminal as he moved to the next crate, this time ignoring any commotion that came within. He didn't even acknowledge the few heads were fearfully peeked out of the first crate.

 _"_ _He's unlocking the crates! How?"_

 _"_ _What's that weird weapon he has?"_

 _"_ _Never mind that! Look around, this place is a fucking graveyard."_

 _"_ _Did he do all of this? Are they D-Dead?"_

 _"_ _I don't care if he killed them or not! If he's on our side, let's help him out. I'm not getting captured again!"_

 _"_ _How do you know he's even on our side? He might try to kill us!"_

 _"_ _Are you kidding me? If he wanted to kill us, why didn't he do it when we were tied up? Why let us go?"_

 _"_ _In any case, I'm not going to stand around and wait to be captured again."_

 _"_ _She's right! We need to fight back! Find the crew members and round them up!"_

 _"_ _But what if they have guns?"_

 _"_ _You'd rather we get captured again? If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna go out fighting."_

Roxas moved to the next few crates and unlocked them, looking for any sign of Yukiko, but he hadn't found her yet. This was making him really anxious. What if they did something to her? What if she resisted and they killed her? What if she wasn't even on this boat?

After about five crates, Roxas noticed that more and more Liminal were starting to racing around the ship, gathering anyone who was left alive and locking them in the crates instead. It was rather easy because most were badly injured or dead. There were a few crew members that tried to hid, but they were easily sniffed out by some of the Canine Liminal's.

A few Liminal's cautiously tried to talk to him, but Roxas simply ignored them as he continued to unlock Shipping containers. When they noticed his lack of response, they simply grouped together and waited outside each container he unlocked. When he unlocked the prisoners, the already freed Liminal would quickly congregate around them and offer words of comfort, especially to the younger ones. They were also very helpful in explaining the new situation.

Finally, Roxas made it to the last crate. At this point he was dead tired and was feeling extremely lightheaded. His magic reserves were all but gone, and the bullet wound wasn't helping either. But even so, his heart was hammering against his chest. This was the last container on the ship and his last chance at finding Yukiko. If she wasn't here, this entire thing would be a complete waste. Yukiko would be gone, and he would be at square one.

With a deep breath and a small group of Liminal standing behind him, he raised the Keyblade and released a beam of light, unlocking the last Container.

* * *

Yukiko had no idea what was happening. She, Mako, and Piper had gone deadly silent when they first began hearing the commotion outside the crate. It was terrifying to hear sounds like screaming, gunfire, and explosions, especially when some stray bullets would impact the side of their metal crates.

It sounded like a battlefield out there for about 20 minutes. After that, everything had gone completely silent. The yelling and gunshots ceased and after a few more moments, the soft sound of footsteps could be heard racing around the containers. Voices began to pick up again, but it wasn't the usual voices of the crew. She and the others in the container didn't dare speaker a single word, hoping to hear anything that might clue them in.

"What do your think's going on out there?" Piper whispered.

"I'm hopen I be wrong, but I believe someone tried to escape. She be sleeping with the fishes now." Mako whispered back.

"You-You don't know that for sure."

Yukiko didn't participate in the conversation even though she was just as curious. She doubted the explosions would be caused by an escaped prisoner…unless it was a dragon.

All conversation stopped when they heard their container door unlock from the outside. The rusty sound of the crank being turned and the metal hinges grinded against each other signaled that someone was opening the door.

Instantly, Yukiko felt nothing but fear. With the bag over her head, she couldn't see anything. Why would they enter the crate? Were they going to…

She heard someone rapidly inhale breath before the sound of soft footsteps approached her. With each footstep, she could feel her heart about to burst from her chest. Fear welled up in her stomach as the footsteps stopped and someone knelt down right in front of her.

There was a brief pause, which felt more like an eternity, before she felt the soft fabric of a gloved hand rest on her shoulder. She flinched violently at the touch.

"Yukiko…"

"…"

That single whispered word nearly caused the Yeti's heart to stop. The voice was so much different than the ones she heard from the crew. It was warm, kind, and full of relief…and for some reason, really familiar…

She inhaled sharply as her mind dared to hope.

It couldn't be true though. This was too good to be true. There was no way the person who murmured her name was the same one she was thinking about. Her mind must be playing tricks on her, wishing that this scenario would come to pass. That someone would save her and spare her a life of servitude. It was simply a cruel trick her mind was playing.

Her thought process shattered when she felt the pressure from the iron cuffs drop. They clanged to the floor, causing her to lean forward. She attempting to use her arms to cushion the fall, but her arms had gone numb after being held in that position for so long.

She closed her eyes under the sack, expecting to feel the cold metal of the shipping container against her face. But a pair of warm hands gently grasped her shoulders as she found herself resting her forehead against the stranger's chest.

"Yukiko…"

This time, the Yeti's eyes widened and filled with tears. She didn't dare want to get her hopes up just in case this was some kind of sick joke. She knew how slim the possibility that the person holding her shoulders was…him...

She felt the warmth of one of his hand leave her shoulder before she felt the bag being pulled from her head. A gust of fresh night air tickled her cheeks as her eyes slowly trailed up the person's body.

It started with his shoe, only one being visible because the person was kneeling down in front of her. It was completely black. Her eyes trailed up his slim frame that was hugged by a familiar black coat. Finally, she looked up into the dark abyss of a black hood…a very familiar black hood.

With as much strength as she could muster, she reached up with her hands and gently reached into the hood before slowly pealing back the fabric. Even in the darkest night, those blue eyes and bright blond hair were always easy to recognize.

There was no mistaking it.

Yukiko's eyes filled with tears of relief as she took in features she never thought she would see again. Blond spiky hair, crystal blue eyes that were filled with exhaustion and relief, and a handsome, if not blood-stained, face.

She swallowed hard, trying to form any words, but the lump in her throat was too large.

"Yukiko…" The boy whispered, the warmth of his voice instantly melting her heart. "I found you…"

Like a damn that was holding back a giant lake, the Yeti broke. She wanted to squeeze the life out of him, but her arms were too weak. Instead, she planted her face against his chest and cried, leaving her hands resting on his shoulders.

"R-Roxas,"

Roxas clenched his eyes closed as the relief was almost overwhelming. He curled his arms around her, resting on arm around her back and the other on the back of her head, holding her close.

"I found you…" Roxas said, the icy coldness in his eyes slowly chipping away as one of his best friend cried against him. Tears slowly formed in his eyes as well.

All Liminal that had been captured by the traffickers had finished finding the surviving crew members and locking them in the shipping crates. Now they were gathered around the entrance of the last crate, watching the scene. Most were confused, but didn't want to ruin the moment.

Heck, even Mako and Piper didn't want to interrupt as they watched Yukiko sob her eyes out into the chest of this young boy. A single kid who stormed the ship, destroyed every member of their crew, and risked his life to save her.

A single boy who managed to save them all.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Well, this chapter took a LONG time to write. I have to admit, there were some parts where I wasn't overly happy with, but I digress. Hope you enjoyed it regardless. To tell you the truth, there was more to this chapter, but I cut out the end because it felt like it was tacked on. It will be in the next update…that will hopefully not take nearly as long to come out.**

 **I don't know what to tell you guys. You were all so patient in waiting for this chapter and I kept putting it off. Life got crazy, but it's not like I didn't have time to write. For some reason, I just couldn't seem to get into the groove for so long. Maybe my problem is that I need to write more. Having extended brakes really make your skills rusty. It feels like if I don't write, there is a wall that slowly builds itself around my mind. And the longer I go without writing, the harder it is to overcome that wall. If I write, the wall slowly becomes smaller and easier to jump over. The wall never disappears, but the more I write, the smaller the wall is.**

 **Point is, the wall got so big that I almost gave up writing in general. I just had Zero motivation to keep going. But I really wanted to get this chapter out, so I pushed myself over the wall.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	19. Chapter 19: Day 35-36

**Authors Note: Wow…I didn't expect so much love from the last chapter. Thank you for understanding my struggle with writing. To be honest, I was a bit afraid to read the reviews because I was a bit worried that the last chapter was too dark. I was also worried that I would get a ton of comments chastening me about the long wait. But to my joy, you all were completely understanding and gave some really encouraging feedback. It's thanks to you that this chapter didn't take seven months to write…only one…Yes I know that I have to do better. So that mean I've created a daily word count goal for myself! Let's see how well I do with that.**

 **More lightheartedness will come with the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 19

Day 39-40

Smith knew it wasn't a good sign when she saw smoke rising from a seemingly abandoned part of Tokyo bay. Already, people were gawking and pointing fingers in that direction, making hushed conversation with each other. No one knew what the commotion was, but smith had a pretty good idea.

It didn't help that the chief of police had met her there with an army of officers. Sure, she gave him a call after she talked with Kimihito, but she didn't expect the police chief to bring reinforcements. It just created more witnesses. If any humans were injured by Axel, Roxas…or any of the others, how was she going to protect them from the law?

Then again…

How was the chief of police going to justify the law when it perpetuated this kind of situation? Due to the laws, Smith had to compromise on securing background checks in order to fill the high demand for eligible hosts. So even if someone had a questionable history, they would still be selected as a host because of the huge amount of Liminal that wanted to integrate themselves into the human world.

It was because of that reason that it was so easy for traffickers to kidnap unsuspecting Liminal and sell them off, and no one would be the wiser. It would be far too late for anyone to react, and thus, the trafficking business boomed after the cultural exchange bill.

Those were the thoughts of the leader of MON as she and the chief of police found themselves standing in the abandoned part of Tokyo Bay. When Smith arrived, she didn't know what to expect. The phone call from Kimihito was so vague that it didn't provide her with much of an idea as to what was going on. He only mentioned that Xion told him to call her and direct her to the bay.

Since that was the only bit of information Smith had, she didn't want to risk going alone and realizing she was way in over her head. It was even worse because she couldn't bring the other members of MON with her because of the effects of the full moon. Hell, she didn't even say a word to them when she left because she knew they would have insisted on coming. If they came and they weren't at the top of there game, they could have been hurt.

That's why she only told Axel about it. He didn't have the same problem.

Now that she was standing there at the bay, she knew she made the right choice in calling for reinforcement.

The scene was completely horrifying.

Smith didn't know what would happen when Axel said he would meet her there, but when saw the amount burned bodies, the coordinator knew she was in for a long night. As soon as the chief of police saw the sight, he called in every ambulance from every hospital within a fifty-mile radius. He also sent his officers all around the bay, looking for survivors and stragglers.

It didn't take long before the ambulances showed up. Soon, the entire bay was alive with activity. Medics were treating those with sever burns and lacerations while others were packing dead bodies into plastic bags. From the looks of it, it didn't seem that Axel was the sole cause of all this death and destruction. Sure, most of the bodies supported major burns, but there was evidence that other Liminal tried to fight back as well.

Even if the excuse of self-defense was involved, the fact that Axel and other Liminal hurt and killed these people…it was going to be a nightmare to deal with. The stacks of paperwork and the onslaught of angry lawyers and judges would keep her up for nights on end. And don't even get started with the clueless families and friends associated with the people who died. Even if they knew about their involvement in this shady operation, the opportunity to get easy compensation was too tantalizing to resist.

"This is bad Smith…Really bad." The Police Chief said, rubbing his eyes after receiving a report from one of his officers. It looked like this was also going to be a long night for him as well.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Smith said as she found herself leaning against a metal cargo crate. She watched as many Liminal were being comforted by various medical professionals while others were refusing to talk to anyone who was human. She couldn't really blame them because it was mostly the human's fault that they were kidnapped in the first place. Not only that, but the law forbade them from doing anything about it.

"I don't think you understand how bad the situation is, Smith. A member of your squad injured and murdered a lot of humans. MON was already facing a lot of resistance from the general public, but now I would be surprised if your team wasn't order to disband first thing in the morning."

"Politics can wait, can't they?" Smith sighed. "Besides, what were we supposed to do? This was a no-win situation for everyone involved. If Liminal fought back, then they would break the law. If they didn't fight back, they were kidnapped. Where's the middle ground here?"

"I understand what you're saying, but that still doesn't change the fact that the law was broken by a member of your squad…"

"Yeah?" Smith growled, glaring over at the chief of police. "And you think these humans are innocent? Even if the surviving Traffickers complain, will any judge in their right mind listen?"

"…" The chief of police didn't say anything else, just lowered his gaze.

"Look around and open your eyes. If someone didn't act, then all these Liminal would have been shipped off to God knows were! And you have the Balls to get political with me when there are more important things to worry about right now!"

Again, the chief was at a loss for words. He looked away from his longtime friend and gave a deep sigh.

Smith took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "I Apologize, but I'm just frustrated. This entire operation was happening right under our noses."

"I know."

"We…We were just so desperate for hosts that we took anyone regardless of how questionable their background was. And that lead to…well…this." Smith said, gesturing at the port.

"I'm aware."

"This can't go on Chief." Smith said, massaging her eyes under her sunglasses. "Something has to be done about these unfair laws. Both Liminal and human need to have the chance to defend themselves. And what's with the Host program anyway? How does it help at all?"

The chief gave another long sigh as he rubbed his forehead. "We're working on it. I know how you feel Kuroko. If you didn't remember, my wife and daughter are also Liminal."

"Well, this might be the push we need to get some of these ridiculous laws fixed." Smith whispered.

"Oi, Smith."

Smith and the chief looked over to see a tall red head standing there with his arms folded. They didn't know what to think of the man when they saw the aftermath of what he did. More than a few were burned to death, and most had serious injuries. Even with all this destruction, he didn't seem the least bit affected by it.

"Axel…Couldn't you show a bit of restraint?" Smith asked weakly.

"Restraint?" Axel parroted mockingly. "Why would I do that? If you didn't realize it yet, these people were traffickers, kidnappers, murderers, rapists. Got it memorized?" he asked, tapping his temple. "Did any of them deserve to exist?"

"Do you have the right to determine if they should exist or not?" The chief fired back with a glare.

"As someone who was never supposed too, yes." Axel said, shaking his head at the chief's confused look. "I really don't see what the big deal is. Isn't the world better off without them? Now they can never do anything like this again."

"It's not that simple Axel." Smith whispered, even though she secretly agreed.

"Oh yes, it is. If they die, no one ever has to worry about being kidnapped by them again. They wouldn't be a threat anymore."

"So that's your big solution?" The Chief growled. "Kill everyone who might do something bad?"

"Course not dumbass…" Axel rolled his eyes at the angry chief. "If you want to twist my words, go ahead. But deep down in your heart, you probably think what I did was for the best. Hell, that's what I think and I don't even have a heart."

"I have no such thoughts…"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Axel drawled. "You know what I can't get? I don't understand why people need to have this fake persona they always play in public. They say things that everyone wants to hear even if they may feel completely different about it. Why? Because they worry about being criticized. They worry about the backlash. And you know what's hilarious?"

Smith and the Chief didn't say anything, so Axel continued.

"Those people who actually do bitch and moan probably don't give a flying fuck about what they complain about. They just want attention. They want others to see them and praise them for trying to speak out." Axel finished with a chuckle. "I guess that's one thing good about not having a heart. I don't care about what you people think. I don't care what others say. I don't care if people whine and complain at me."

Smith and the Chief didn't know how to respond to that. What he said was true after all. People on the media exaggerate truth because it affects there rating. People say things that are politically correct because they are afraid of backlash, then they bask in the praise that others shower upon them. That's the way the world is now. So of course, there will be so many who say that Axel is completely wrong and that he's a monster…even though they might agree with what he did in their minds.

"Where are the others?" Smith asked, wanting to change the subject.

"I think they're off at the docks, waiting for the ship."

"This ship?" Chief asked.

Axel turned and pointed to the ship in the distance. Both Smith and the Chief of police flinched a little when they saw smoke rising out of the freighter. It was slowly approaching the shore, but as it drew closer, they could see how damaged it was.

"Why are they waiting for the ship?" Smith asked.

"I think Roxas's friend is on there…"

The Chief grit his teeth as he looked over at Axel. "Did you attack the ship too?"

Axel opened his mouth to deny it, but a thought struck him. He paused for a few moments, closing and opening his mouth a few times before a grin spread across his face. "Yep! That was me alright. Teleported right to the ship and raised all kinds of hell after taking care of the grunts at the port."

The police chief glared at the nobody, but Smith stared at him, her eyebrow raised. That small hesitation was not lost to her. Her mouth was slightly ajar, wondering what Axel was up to.

"Then why are you back here then?" The Chief growled.

"To see if I missed any stragglers, Duh!" Axel said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, I think they found someone who can guide the ship back to the port. I wouldn't know how to steer a boat."

The Chief growled at the nobody, angry that he was so laid back about the situation.

"So, this destruction…everything that happened…it was all you?" Smith asked slowly, gauging Axels response.

"100% all me, got it memorized?" Axel said with a grin. "Roxas, Xion…the Dog girl, and the slimy one didn't get involved at all. They just found out where the base was and I did the rest."

"Speaking of which…" The chief said suspiciously. "How did they find out?"

"Beats me, why don't you ask them?"

The way Axel was acting made Smith really suspicious. The way he paused, and then his over exuberance to claim that he was responsible for everything just didn't make sense. She knew for a fact that he didn't arrive until much later and she didn't think Roxas had it in him to wait that long for help to show up. There was no way that Axel was responsible for everything…

Oh…

Smith's eyes widened under her sunglasses as she realized what Axel was up to.

"Chief." Smith said adjusting her glasses and masking her emotions.

"What is it?" the Chief growled back.

"Why don't you start working on the report, I need to talk with Axel."

The chief of police whirled around and leveled Smith with a glare. "I don't think so! This man has a lot to answer for."

"But he falls under my jurisdiction." Smith retorted angrily, adjusting her glasses once again. "Don't worry, I will take responsibility for him"

The chief nearly felt his temper get the best of him, but he just huffed. "You're playing a dangerous game smith. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Yeah…me too."

With one more glare at Axel, the chief of police stormed off in order to communicate with his officers and get a report.

Smith watched him leave before pushing herself off the metal container. She walked up to Axel and studied him for a few moments. "Listen…" She said. "Are you sure about this?"

"Sure, about what?" Axel asked in an extremely…condescending tone. It was so obvious that he was playing dumb that she wanted to smack him upside the head.

But instead of doing that, Smith narrowed her eyes, having little patience for his attitude.

Axel seemed to get the message because he chuckled. "Oh, that? Sure am."

Smith bit her lower lip. "Why?"

For the first time that night, she saw Axel's countenance completely change. His expression took a 180 from cocky and arrogant, to…somber. The change was so sudden that it caught the coordinator off guard.

"Roxas, Xion…and the rest, they're just kids. I don't think they could handle the political fallout…in fact, they shouldn't have to worry about it. I'll take the fall this time."

Smith bit her lower lip angrily at his point. This was going to be an all-out war with the law and it was going to get ugly. The Red-haired nobody just threw himself on the front lines to be eaten alive by…everyone.

"Hey, don't worry you're pretty little head smith…" Axel chuckled, patting the coordinator on the shoulder. "This sounds pretty fun if you ask me."

"Fun huh?" Smith adjusted her glasses and giggled. "You were always complaining about being bored. But are you sure you can handle this?"

"Oh, absolutely! This world hasn't seen anything like me before." Axel thumbed his chest. "I don't have a heart, remember? They can throw all the political bull-crap the want at me, try to make me feel like the worst scum of the earth, but it won't matter. I'll send it right back."

"They better watch out then." Smith gave a sad smile. "But Xion and Roxas don't have hearts either…so how would this overwhelm them?"

Axel paused again, a small smile on his lips. "Tell me smith, when you look at those kids, do you really think they don't have hearts?"

Smith's mouth closed pretty quickly.

"I don't know what's happening to them Smith, but every time I see them, it just doesn't feel like they're empty husks."

"It doesn't _Feel_ Like they're empty husks?" Smith asked, an eyebrow raised. "And how would you know that?"

Axel's smile disappeared, replaced with a look of contemplation. "I don't know how to describe it smith, but whenever I see Xion…heck, even Roxas, MON…and a couple others I guess…They…" He paused, glancing over at Smith, trying to find the right words.

"They what?"

"…forget it."

"C'mon! Don't be like that!" Smith said, playfully slapping his shoulder. "They what? Spill it!"

"alright whatever…" Axel signed. "…They make me feel…like I…have a heart."

"…"

Smith didn't know how to respond to that. One, because she didn't know what it was like to be a nobody and to not feel anything. Two, he just admitted that being around certain people helped him feel like he wasn't empty. And three, she thought for a second, she could see a tiny…embarrassed? Yeah, tiny embarrassed blush on his face. She didn't think that was even possible for someone like Axel, especially since he didn't really react to anything that way. No flirty of any kind from the members of MON could spark a reaction. Even when Tio accidently walked out of the bathroom in nothing but her underwear right in front of him, he simply looked bored. He did tease her to hell, turning the Oni into a blushing, embarrassed mess, but he never was on the other end.

That meant this was way too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Awe, I didn't know we meant so much to you." Smith teased.

"Now don't get sappy on me Smith." Axel rebutted, his eyebrow twitching.

"Right, Right." Smith laughed, letting the subject drop for now. It was good ammunition for later after all. "I'm gonna see if I can find the kids. Kimihito must be worried out of his mind."

"Yeah, you do that."

"Oh, and one more thing…" Smith said as she reached over and grasped his shoulder and leaned in. "What you did was a bit extreme…but you're right. I can't entirely fault you."

Axel grinned, as she clapped her on the shoulder. "I know Smith. You have to keep up appearances in public if you want MON to exist."

Smith simply nodded as she walked past the nobody. She was worried though. This entire case could be used against laws that were unfair towards Liminal kind, but there were still those nut jobs who would still bitch about a Liminal on her team killing humans.

She gave a sigh as she walked in the direction of the docks. She would cross that bridge when it came, but for now, she had a few kids to check up on.

* * *

 _A few moments earlier_

Yukiko's soft crying was the only noise heard from inside the crate. A small crowd of liminal had gathered around the entrance because curiosity had got the best of them. Sure, they knew that someone had come to the rescue, but all of them wanted to know who it actually was.

Needless to say, they were surprised to see a young boy shrouded in the blood-stained, black coat. It left them even more stunned when they took into consideration the carnage that befell the crew members.

 _It's a kid!_

 _You're kidding me! A Child did all this?_

 _Who is he?_

 _Why did he come here?_

 _How did he get here?_

The questions continued to fly, but the two teens paid them no mind. They simply relished in the warm touch of the other's embrace. Nothing else really mattered at that moment.

Yukiko had managed to get enough feeling in her arms to constrict them around Roxas's neck, burying her face into his shoulder as she continued to cry. So many emotions from fear, relief, happiness, anger, frustration, and so much more consumed her soul, so much so that her mind simply couldn't handle it. The only thing she could do was to cling onto the only one familiar and let it all out.

And let it out she did.

Roxas was in a similar state as he gently stroked the back of Yukiko's head. He was so relieved that she was sitting there in his arms. It was almost surreal because the possibility that this would never happen again was too close for comfort. There was a high chance that he might never had found her, and therefor never see her again.

Just the thought caused him to hold on a bit tighter.

Mako and Piper didn't know how to react to this new development. They simply glanced at each other before looking back at the duo.

"Did…Did she say Roxas?" Piper asked.

"Ar, you be correct mate."

"You mean the same kid Yukiko kept talking about? The one with amnesia?"

Mako simply nodded. "I believe that be correct as well."

Piper blinked a few times before observing the back of the kid's head. True to Yukiko's description, he was a young boy with blond hair. But that was all she could see because his back was turned to her. She could see Yukiko's white hair over his shoulder while the sound of her muffled sobs was heard through his coat.

If the situation were any different, she would have thought it was one of the most heartwarming scenes she ever saw. But with the smell of smoke and blood in the air, it soured the mood quite a bit.

Speaking of which, she realized now that they were free, this was the perfect time to escape. Quickly glancing over at the entrance of the shipping crate, she noticed that a group of fellow Liminal were watching the scene alongside her.

The Lamia raised an eyebrow before slithering over to the closest one. It was a Kobold a few years younger than herself. Her brown, bushy hair was matted and she was gently massaging her wrists from being shacked for so long.

"Um…" Piper said, ripping the kobold's eyes away from the two kids. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"…"

The kobold bit her lower lip, obviously reminded of her current situation. She licked her lips nervously.

"I…I think that kid saved us…" The Kobold whispered.

"…All of us?"

The dog-girl nodded. "I don't know how it happened, but I just remember hearing the sounds of men screaming, and gunshot…" She said softly, her eyes tearing up just from remembering her position a few moments ago. "Then after everything was quiet, I heard the door to the crate open. The next thing I knew, the metal shackle was unlocked and everyone was free."

"Everyone?" Piper asked.

The kobold nodded again as she continued. "We saw the boy in the black coat…" She said pointing to Roxas "He was unlocking the crates and freeing everyone…He didn't say a word, just continued opening the crates as if he were…looking for someone."

Piper paused for a few moments before glancing over at Roxas and Yukiko. A small smile crawled along her face. "I think he found it…" She said before looking back at the Kobold. It seemed everyone else was listening to the young Liminal's story. "What about the crew?"

The dog-Liminal visibly winced before her completion changed to one of pure rage. "Those…FILTH…We've rounded them up and gave them a taste of there own medicine." She growled.

"Yeah!" Another Liminal piped up. Piper turned to see a young raptor harpy scratch her talons on the ship deck. "We sniffed them out and locked all of em' up in the crates…all that weren't already dead."

Usually, Piper would have winced at the thought of someone being killed, but now was not one of those times. She even felt a little joy when she heard about the more unfortunate victims. "What did you do with the dead ones?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The kobold said angrily. "We tossed them over the ship. An unmarked grave in the middle of the ocean was good enough for those scoundrels."

"I agree," The raptor said.

"Good." Piper hummed. "Then we won't have to explain dead bodies when we return to shore."

"I wouldn't care either way…I'm…I'm done with human society…" The Raptor growled as she turned and stretched her wings. "I'm going home…"

Piper didn't say anything to stop her as she watched the Harpy fly into the sky. Honesty, she couldn't really blame the raptor. Even looking around, most of the Liminal on the ship agreed with her. They didn't care about being deported anymore because they were through with trying to integrate into society. With the laws stacked against them, how would someone prevent something like this from happening again?

Heck, even though she knew most humans weren't like those traffickers, her policeman host was a prime example, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Not in a time like this. No one would want to listen to that.

Giving a sigh, she turned back into the crate to see that Yukiko and Roxas had yet to move from there spot on the ground. While it was an adorable sight, it was time to figure out what to do from here on out. And unfortunately, that meant interrupting the moment.

Yukiko's sobs had calmed down to a quiet cry by this point. She still clung onto one of her best friends for dear life, afraid that he might disappear if she let go. But at lease she wasn't saturating his coat with her tears anymore.

It was so comforting to feel his arms wrapped protectively around her. His warm hands caressed her lower back and the back of her head while soft strokes soothed her troubled soul. Little by little, comfort and reassurance returned after being consumed by a hopeless black abyss.

Soon, her soft cries turned more into soft, deep breaths. Her eyes were closed because she was still a bit afraid that this was all a dream, that she would wake up any moment still strapped to the cold, hard walls of the shipping crate.

"…You know…I hate to be that person but…"

The sudden voice caused Yukiko to flinch violently. She was so caught up in her own little world that she nearly forgot she wasn't the only one kidnapped. There were other's like her who were on this ship.

Reluctantly, she raised her face from Roxas's shoulder, instantly regretting it because she missed the warmth already. But her eyes trialed up to see A few Unfamiliar Liminal. The woman in front of her was a Lamia of some kind. She had Sandy blond hair, golden eyes that seemed to glow in the dark, and light brown scales that creeped up the side of her face. Her arms were also covered in light brown scales as was her tail.

Yukiko's brow knitting in confusion for a few seconds. "Who…?"

The Lamia blinked a couple times before giggling. "I'm not surprised I guess. You did have a bag on your head after all."

After hearing the person's voice again, Yukiko's eyes widened. "Piper!"

"Bingo." Piper chuckled. "It's nice to see what you finally look like Lil' Yukiko. You're much cuter than I thought."

Yukiko stared up at the Snake-girl with a bewildered look on her face. Usually she would have blushed a bit at the complement, but she was not in the mood right now. She looked past the Lamia before spotting another Liminal woman sitting on the crate floor with her back rested against the wall.

"Ahoy Matey!" The Liminal greeted with a tired, sharp-tooth smile.

"Mako!" Yukiko exclaimed. "You're-you're a shark!"

"That be correct young scallywag." Mako chuckled as she turned a teasing eye on the duo. "How long you be gettin' cozy with the young lad before introducing him to us?"

Again, Yukiko wasn't in the mood to react to teasing. Instead, she just constricted her arms around Roxas's neck even harder.

"…Y-Yukiko…" The boy in question gasped. "You're…You're breaking my neck."

"Oh!" Yukiko gasped as she eased up a bit, allowing Roxas to take a gasp of air. "S-Sorry Roxas."

"It's fine." Roxas said softly, turning to look her in the eyes. He gave a small smile. "I'm glad I found you."

Yukiko bit her lower lip and nodded slowly. "H-How?"

Roxas cocked an eyebrow. "How what?"

"How did you find me?"

"Oh…" Roxas said, going quiet for a few moments. "by sheer dumb luck."

"…"

Seeing the confused look on her face, Roxas was about to elaborate, but Piper beat him to the punch.

"I'm sure it's an interesting story, but we have to figure out what to do now." The Lamia said, her scaled arms crossed.

Roxas turned his head and glanced at the Lamia, and eyebrows raised. "Who are you?"

Piper almost fell over. "Weren't you listening kid?" She asked, only to receive a blank look from the nobody. She gave a sigh instead. "My name is piper, but that's not important. What are we supposed to do now? The bay is filled with other traffickers."

Roxas studied her for a few seconds before glancing back at Yukiko. The Yeti was looking at him with fear building up in her eyes again.

"You don't have to worry about that."

"Oh? And why might that be?" Mako asked.

Roxas looked past piper and saw Mako sitting there. She wasn't the only one he noticed though because a large group of Liminal were standing at the entrance of the Shipping crate, all wondering the same thing.

"I told my friends to stay back at the bay and contact Smith…" Roxas started.

"Wait…Smith? As in the coordinator?"

Roxas nodded in confirmation.

"Your friends…You mean Pyra came too?" Yukiko asked, her eyes widening.

"Pyra, Suu, and Xion all came…" Roxas said, looking the Yeti in the eyes. "We were all worried about you."

Again, Yukiko's eyes filled with tears as she gave a small hiccup. Without warning, she tackled the nobody to the ground, sobbing into his chest. "They came for me too!" She muffled through his coat.

Roxas winced painfully by the sudden contact. The bullet wound in his shoulder may have stopped bleeding, but it was still extremely sore. He bit through the pain though and rested a hand on the back of Yukiko's head. "Yeah…They wanted to come on the ship too, but there were a lot of people that needed help at the bay."

Piper glanced at Mako briefly before looking back at Roxas. "Are…Are they as strong as you?"

Roxas looked up from his position on the ground. "They're strong enough. And besides, Smith should be there by now."

"He's right! Look at the bay!"

Everyone turned to see the Kobold standing just outside the entrance of the crate. She was pointing in the direction of the bay. Piper and rushed out of the crate, following the crowd as they gazed over the ocean waters. Her eyes widened as she saw smoke rising from the bay and flashing police lights illuminating every inch of the harbor.

"Well I'll be…" Mako said, crawling over to get a better look.

"You can say that again." Piper agreed.

Roxas didn't join them because he was being pinned by a still-crying Yeti. She was not letting him out of reaching distance and it was hard to tell if she was crying tears of joy or not.

"They were worried about me! They all came to save me! I have the best friends ever!" Yukiko kept mumbling into his coat.

"Of course they did, they wanted to save you-" Roxas hissed in pain as Yukiko accidently gazed over his shoulder again.

The small noise was not lost to the Yeti as she stopped crying and looked up at the nobody.

"Roxas…Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine-" He hissed again as he tried to gently grasp Yukiko's shoulder and push her off of him so he could sit up. It was a mistake because pain coursed through his arm and shoulder at the slightest pressure.

Yukiko sat up on her own but narrowed her eyes slightly. Without warning, she gently grasped his shoulder.

Roxas gasped in pain and jerked his shoulder away.

"You're hurt!" Yukiko exclaimed.

Slowly, Roxas nodded. "I used nearly all my magic…so I could only use a low-level cure spell."

"How bad is it?"

"It's not that bad." Roxas deflected, scooting away from the Yeti before she could grab his coat.

"Let me see it!"

"It's fine Yukiko."

"It's not fine! Let me see it!" she growled angrily.

Roxas paused for a few moments before he reached up with his uninjured hand and unzipped his coat. He then peeled back the fabric so his shoulder was visible.

Yukiko's face paled when she saw the wound. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but there was clear evidence that the wound was serious. His entire arm was stained with blood. The shirt he wore under the coat had a bullet-sized rip in it and the flesh beneath was the same color as raw hamburger.

"You were shot!?"

"Only once." Roxas responded, pulling his coat back on. He didn't like the look that she was giving him when they saw the wound. To him, it wasn't that big of a deal because he could cast a higher-level Cure spell on it when his magic returned.

Yukiko's lower lip trembled yet again. She wanted to throw her arms around the nobody's neck again, but she was too afraid to hurt him even more.

He took a bullet to save her. He was hurt because she got herself caught.

She didn't meet his eyes, instead covered her own with her bangs.

"I'm…I'm sorry Roxas…You got hurt…because…"

"Stop." Roxas said with a touch of annoyance in his voice. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It's not that serious. I would take a few more if it meant rescuing you."

It wasn't a boast…but a fact. Nothing would have stopped him from rescuing her. Not guns, knives, heartless, or nobodies would have gotten in his way.

"R-Roxas…" Yukiko whispered, her heart filling with so much emotion.

"That wound though, I think we should get it taken care of before it gets infected…"

Roxas and Yukiko jumped a little because they completely forgot that others were there. They turned to see a few Liminal giving the two of them starry-eyed looks. It seemed that there interest in the bay was lost in favor of there dramatic moment.

 _"_ _Awe! That's so romantic!"_

 _"_ _Are you kidding me? It's corny as fuck!"_

 _"_ _Shut it you! Women love corny!"_

The Liminal began talking among themselves while Piper tired to stay on topic.

"That's a nasty injury. You need to get it looked at."

"No need…" Roxas responded. "I will be fine."

"Playing the tough guy act?"

"You realize you be talking to the lad who sent most of the crew to Davey jones locker?" Mako asked dryly.

"…Touché." Piper responded before she looked back at the two kids. "Well if you're sure you're alright, I won't pressure you. All we need now is to get this ship back to the bay."

"AR! Who do you think I am?" Mako groused as if she were just insulted. "I am a proud pirate! I can captain any ship ye put me in front of!"

"Well, sail away captain. Let's get you to the brig."

* * *

"Yar! Land ho!" Mako quipped happily as she sat in the captain's seat, guiding the ship back to the port.

"Well I'll be damned. I guess there was some relevance behind this pirate act." Piper mused.

"What? Ye thought I was blowing smoke about being a pirate this while time?" Mako asked with a touch of annoyance in her voice.

"Yeah, I thought you were just a fan."

"I be insulted at ye claim!" Mako said angrily before she turned her attention to the bay. She gave a small whistle in amazement. "Ye weren't lying about the harbor, were ya kid?"

The question was aimed at the boy sitting on a couch in the back of the cabin. He gave a tiny nod, indicating that he heard her as he gently stroked Yukiko's hair with his good hand as she rested her head in his lap.

The Yeti girl was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. So even though she was still awake, just resting her head on Roxas's lap as she laid on the couch beside him felt amazing. Relief and comfort washed over her like a warm blanket. After everything that had occurred today, she wanted nothing more than to safely rest.

Piper looked out the window and marveled at the massive amount of activity coming from the port. There were flashes of blue and red lights, indicating that police were already there. Smoke was also rising into the air from multiple sources at the bay.

"I almost feel bad for those traffickers…nah, I hope they're all dead." Piper said as she glanced over at Roxas and Yukiko. To be honest, she was a bit wary of the young boy sitting there, gently patting the Yeti's head. Just a few moments ago, he was a blood-soaked killer that had a large body count on his hands. Now he was absolutely calm, and there was a curiously warm glint in his eye now that he knew his friend was safe.

Not many people had the guts to go that far for someone else. And to even take a bullet without even a complaint was impressive. Then, to be able to mow down an entire crew of people just for the chance to save a friend…she didn't think that was normal behavior. Most people would have just left the whole situation to the police and waited for something to happen.

But this boy didn't do that. He took matters into his own hands…and because of that, everyone on the ship was saved.

She didn't know if there was something mentally wrong with the kid…or if he was just an overprotective friend. She remembered Yukiko talking about him and how he had amnesia. If that were the case, then it was possible that he thought this was the only option he had. That way of thinking was kind of dangerous because it meant he would not hesitate to kill again.

Either way, she didn't feel the lest bit sorry for the men that died. Heck, even the surviving Traffickers were treated without any care. The kidnapped Liminal locked them away inside the crates. Most of them were seriously injured, but after what they put everyone through, no one had sympathy. Even now, some of there muffled wailing could be heard from outside the crates.

She ignored them because they deserved to suffer. Instead, she watched the two kids in front of her and couldn't help but smile a little. The look on Yukiko's could be described as extremely content with just being near the boy, and vice versa. If the gentle Yeti was fine around this mysterious boy, then he couldn't be that bad.

Even as they walked up to the cabin with Mako, Yukiko wasn't too disturbed by the scene. In fact, after her initial shock, she seemed to almost enjoy the suffering of the crew.

Maybe the Yeti wasn't as innocent as she let on. Maybe there was a bit of darkness in her as well…or maybe it was just a natural reaction to enjoy the suffering of those who cause you pain.

Whatever it was, it seemed her reaction was shared by a majority of the Liminal on the ship. The crew members were treated harshly and none cared if their injuries lead to eventual death.

"I be very curious though…" Mako said suddenly, glancing over her shoulder at Roxas and Yukiko. "How did ye manage to find out about this here operation?"

Piper looked over at Roxas, that same question also pricking her mind. Yukiko turned her head slightly so she was now laying face up so she could look at him easier. Both of their eyes showed curiosity. It was the question they wanted to ask after everything had settled down.

Roxas paused for a few moments before taking a deep breath. "I was lucky…"

"Lucky how?" Piper asked.

"Lucky because I knew someone who encountered Liminal Traffickers in the past."

"W-What? Really?" Yukiko gasped, her eyes widening.

Roxas looked down at the Yeti and nodded. "It was Kii…"

"KII!?"

Mako and Piper glanced at each other in confusion. "Who is Kii?"

"A Dryad that's friends with us." Roxas said, looking at Mako and Piper again. "I remembered her mentioning that she was kidnapped by humans a while ago. Smith managed to intercept them in the past and rescue the Liminal kids…but Kii was overlooked."

"Oh…you've got to be kidding me. How did they overlook her?" Piper asked.

"And why didn't Kii ever tell us this?" Yukiko asked right after.

"First, Kii never mentioned why she was overlooked…maybe they just got careless, or they didn't look hard enough, but someone else found her and brought her to the forest just outside the city." Roxas continued. "As for why she didn't tell us…she simply doesn't like talking about the experience."

"I…Can understand that…" Piper said. "This entire situation, I would rather never talk about it again."

"Yar! I agree with ye." Mako said somberly.

"Still, you are right when you said it was dumb luck." Piper continued, catching everyone's attention. "It seems we were all lucky that your friend had past experiences with Traffickers."

Roxas nodded in agreement. If Kii hadn't dropped that small hint in past conversation, then Yukiko would have been gone forever. It was just a small sentence that changed her fate…and the fate of everyone else on this ship.

"What happened after that?" Yukiko asked.

"After that, I just ran to Tokyo bay with Pyra." Roxas continued. "And when we arrived…Pyra picked up Akio's sent."

Just the mention of his name caused the Yeti's entire body to flinch violently. Fear welled up in her eyes as her body began to shake with fright.

"Akio…You mean Yukiko's host?" Piper asked.

Yukiko a shivered and scrunched up a little at the question. She slowly nodded her head.

"Oh, did you kill him? Tell me you killed that son of a bitch!"

Roxas slowly shook his head the negative. "We questioned him and he let us know that Yukiko was already on the ship."

"He let you know? Just like that?"

"…We may have beat the answer out of him…"

"That's more like it."

"I used the corridor of darkness to get to the ship while Suu and Pyra called Xion and Smith. You know the rest."

"Corridor of darkness?" Piper asked.

Roxas opened and closed his mouth a few times. He really didn't want to explain the mechanics of how the corridor works to a couple strangers. "Basically, it helps me teleport…"

"What!? I've never heard of something like that!" Piper exclaimed before pointing at the Yeti. "And you didn't mention that your friend had the ability to teleport!"

"I…" Yukiko stuttered. "I didn't think it was important and Roxas didn't like people talking about it."

Piper was still amazed that such a young boy had such and amazing ability. Just who or what was this kid? How did he have the strength to take on an entire crew of people, have the ability to use magic and teleport…just who was he?"

"Yar, Pyra be that Hellhound the Yeti told us about?" Mako asked.

"Yeah."

"Again, ye was lucky to have such a tracker as a friend. I was never one to be religious, but I swear someone be looking out for us with that kind fortune."

"You can say that again." Piper agreed, rubbing her forehead. "To know someone that had past experiences with Traffickers, to have an expert tracker like a Hellhound as a friend…and then to have someone who can actually teleport…" She finished as she glanced at the Yeti. "I swear angels are looking out for you. But to be fair, they were looking out for all of us."

"Why's that?"

"Well…" Piper said, a small smile on her face. "If you didn't get kidnapped, then the rest of us wouldn't have been rescued either."

Mako shivered slightly at the thought. Just realizing how close they were to getting sold off made her stomach turn.

"We shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Just be glad that ye were saved at all." Mako said.

"Yeah, I guess we should."

* * *

 _CRUNCH_

Surprisingly, Mako did a decent job parking the ship…if you didn't count half of the docks she managed to crash into. Just as soon as the ship came to a halt, Liminal of all kind began pouring out of the ship and into the hands of nearby medics. Police officers started boarding the ship while instructed by the other Liminal as to where the Traffickers were being held. Soon, the ship was just as active as the rest of the bay.

Liminal were giving their statements, describing many people who were involved in the entire scandal, while others simply asked to be sent home. Over all, everyone was tired and ready for the day to be over.

Yukiko and Roxas took their time reaching the disembarking platform, mostly because Mako asked Roxas if he would carry her off the ship. She would have asked Piper again, but her experience being carried up to the cabin by the Lamia was not something either of them wanted to remember. Piper kept falling off balance and accidently dropped the shark a few times.

Unfortunately, that also meant Roxas had to carry the Shark-girl uncomfortably over his uninjured shoulder. There were a few times that Mako wanted to take a bite out of the Nobody because his coat was still stained with blood. But she managed to control herself when Roxas threatened to drop her.

Yukiko was sticking by the nobody and the Lamia as close as she could. Even though she knew she was safe now, the feeling of fear was still strong on the boat. Just being around a couple friends was enough to calm her down.

It didn't take long before the four of them reached the edge of the ship and disembarked onto the dock.

"YUKIKO!"

The young Yeti nearly leaped out of her skin when a voice suddenly shouted her name. She turned to see three figures sprinting directly at them, all the while tears welling up in her eyes when she recognized the trio.

"Pyra! Xion! Suu!" Yukiko cried out as she ran towards them. The first to reach her was the extremely happy slime. She literally coiled herself up like a spring before launching at the Yeti, slammed forcefully into Yukiko and nearly knocking her off her feet. Suu squeezed the life out of her with her gelatinous feelers.

"Suu was-Suu was so worried!" Suu cried while Yukiko returned the hug joyfully. "Suu was afraid Yukio would never see Suu again!"

"I'm sorry Suu. I'm so sorry-OUCH!" Yukiko exclaimed as a furry paw smacked her upside the head. She turned a tearful eye to the one responsible. "Pyra! Why'd you do tha-"

She was cut off when the Hellhound threw her arms around her neck, pulling Yukiko into a firm hug.

"P-Pyra!" Yukiko said, completely surprised by the sudden shift in tone.

"You idiot! We both knew that bastard of a host was trouble! Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Pyra growled into her ear.

Yukiko's lower lip trembled as tears threatened to leak from her eyes again. Just the sheer feeling of comfort her friends provided was nearly overwhelming. "I…I know, but I…I wanted to stay with you guys. I didn't want to risk trying to find a new host."

"Yeah, but next time, try talking with us!" Pyra said, easing her grip on Yukiko's shoulders and pulling away so she could look her in the eyes. "We're your friends! We figure things out together! So, if you're ever in trouble, please let us help!"

Tears actually did stream down Yukiko's face as she nodded, wrapping her arms around the Hellhound and pulling her close again.

Roxas was engrossed in the scene before he felt an impatient tap on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to see the Shark-girl pointing to the edge of the dock. The nobody understood the silent message and walked over to the side of the dock before placing Mako in the water as per her instruction.

"Thank ye, kid." Mako said, resting her arms on the side of the dock while looking fondly at the emotional sight of Yukiko and her friends. "We can't thank ye enough for saving our tails."

Roxas pursed his lips a bit, legitimately feeling bad because he was only there for one reason.

"Based on the look on your face, you think you don't deserve to be thanked." Piper said as she rested a hand on his shoulder from behind. He glanced up at her and nodded slightly.

"I was only there to rescue Yukiko."

"But in turn, you saved us all. It doesn't really matter what the reason was, we will still thank you for it." Piper said gratefully.

Slowly, Roxas nodded his head, a nice feeling of warmth spreading through his chest.

Piper and Mako returned his nod before glancing down the docks. "now all we need to do is wait for Coach to show up…"

"Coach?" Roxas asked.

"He be our host."

"Oh…Ok…" Roxas said as he felt a hand on his other shoulder. He winced a bit because the hand gazed his wound. Turning around, he was greeted with the sight of Xion standing behind him with a smile on her face.

"You did it. You rescued her."

Roxas glanced over at the trio of girls and slowly shook his head. "We all did."

* * *

Smith winced a bit when she witnessed the freighter crash into the docks. Not the best disembarks she'd ever seen, but it's not like anyone cared at the moment. The only thing she cared about was getting these poor Liminal girls taken care of.

She didn't know how many were on the boat, but it seemed like quite a few based on how many were already talking to a team of medics and police officers. She didn't realize this operation was as big as it was. This was probably one of the biggest Trafficking rings in Tokyo…if not Japan.

But now that the operation was thwarted, Smith really wanted to find the ones responsible for stopping it.

After reaching the ship, Smith eventually found the group of kids at the edge of the docks next to the freighter. Multiple Liminal, police officers, and Traffickers were being hauled off the ship. Just looking at the state of a few traffickers really made Smith cringe. The ones that were alive were howling in pain because their bodies were bloodied, broken, burned, or all of the above. She didn't know if it was Roxas's doing or the Liminal's after they were freed. Either way, she didn't care. Those people got exactly what they deserved.

She turned her attention back to the group of kids…a group that was far too young for something like this to happen to them. She walked up behind the group before pausing a moment. Three of them were comforting Yukiko, checking up on her and asking if she was alright. Even at this distance, you could see the relief on everyone's face.

Right now, Yukiko was hugging Xion for dear life. The poor Yeti girl was a blubbering mess and she had every right to be. After all, she never thought she would see her friends or family ever again. Not only that, but her friends were the ones that came and rescued her. That must have meant quite a lot to the Yeti.

Seeing the wonderful scene, she didn't want to interrupt, but she also had some questions that needed answered.

"Hey…" the coordinator said quietly, catching everyone's attention.

"Smith…" Roxas replied quietly.

Taking a closer look at the nobody, Smith had to cringe again. His coat was caked in dry blood and he looked exhausted. In fact, all five children looked completely exhausted and ruffed up.

"Smith…" Xion also greeted.

Pyra, Suu, and Yukiko just looked over at her wordlessly.

"How are you holding up Yukiko?" Smith asked. She regretted asking instantly because the young Yeti tensed up and buried her face into Xion's shoulder.

"How do you think she's holding up?" Pyra barked, reaching over and rubbing Yukiko's back soothingly.

"Sorry, it was a bad question…" Smith said, trying to find a different question to ask. It was difficult though because it felt like anything she wanted to ask would have adverse effects on the traumatized Yeti.

"No, it's ok Smith." Yukiko said slowly as she pulled away from her friends. She gazed up at the coordinator.

Just looking into her eyes, Smith wished she could have been there to kill off a few traffickers herself. If a person could do something like this to someone as cheerful, innocent, and kind as Yukiko, then they didn't deserve to live.

Looking back at Roxas, she once again observed the state he was in. "Roxas…you were the one who managed to save her…" Smith summarized. "Axel didn't even touch foot on the ship."

"No Shit." Pyra growled.

"…"

Smith was surprised by the venom in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Pyra seethed, glaring up at the woman with glowing red eyes. Small streaks of fire streamed from her eyelashes. "This entire system is fucked up! Why the fuck do Liminal's need a fucking host? You were so desperate to get any old sap that they end up kidnapping and selling their tenants to traffickers. And you know what the clincher is? The Liminal couldn't do anything to fight back because of the fucking laws! And you ask me what's wrong?"

Even Roxas, Yukiko, Suu, and Xion were a bit surprised by the sudden outburst, but they couldn't disagree.

Seeing how Smith hung her head in defeated, she was most effected by the angry hellhounds words.

"My Best friend was almost kidnapped by a sex trafficking Ring! She was almost sold like a piece of property! If we didn't decide to say "Fuck it!" and throw the rules out the window, then they would have gotten away with it." Pyra continued clenching her paws while more streams of fire ejected from her eyelashes. "But even though we saved everyone, I just know some political nut-job is going to try and punish us for hurting their _precious_ humans while completely ignoring everything they did!"

"Pyra…" Suu whimpered.

Smith felt her heart grow heavy as she witnessed tears well up in Pyra's eyes. Tears of sadness, relief, but most of all, frustration.

"You didn't see it Smith…" Pyra continued, placing her face in her paws. "You didn't see the look in everyone's eyes when they got off that ship. Roxas covered in blood and a damn bullet wound through the shoulder, Yukiko barely able to walk straight because of shock, both looking completely and emotionally broken. You can't imagine it Smith because you like staying in your happy place, thinking everything is hunker-fucking-dory while the rest of us suffer with rules that clearly do NOTHING to help us intermingle with the human world."

Smith could not say anything because the Hellhound was right. Despite the hard words Pyra spoke, Smith understood that the hellhound knew it wasn't smiths fault that these rules existed. Pyra was just ranting after a REALLY bad day. But it didn't hurt any less. The rules still existed. This entire situation still happened. And these young kids were involved in the middle of it.

But now was not the time for self-loathing. If the Hellhound was right about something, it was the fact that the political backlash was going to be intense. And these kids had already been through enough…

Looking around, she noticed that a small crowd of people were beginning to listen in on there conversation. This was an opportunity she could not miss.

"Roxas…" She said, getting the boy's attention. "You didn't enter the ship at all…You didn't save any of these Liminal…"

"Who-What the FUCK?!" Pyra howled before Smith raised her hand to stop her.

"Axel entered the ship, killing and hurting all of those traffickers…" She continued pointing to the rest of them. "All you guys did was find out where the operation was taking place and you let Axel do the rest."

Everyone was clearly confused as to what smith was talking about. Didn't she hear them at all? Why was she trying to discredit Roxas? He was the one that risked his life to save them?

 _So, it was the member of MON that saved them?_

 _He entered the ship and freed the Liminal? How did he do that?_

 _He killed and hurt all those humans too?_

 _That's really bad. I can't imagine the kind of backlash he's going to face._

 _Poor guy. Saving all those Liminal and getting punished for it._

Hearing the whispers start to fly around, the hellhound began to understand what was going on. Her eyes widened and her mouth began to open and close repeating.

"B-but smith! Axel did-" Yukiko started before she found her mouth covered by a black paw.

Everyone was confused by the Hellhounds actions, but she was giving them all a look that told them to shut up.

Xion seemed to understand what Smith as doing as well because her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Smith, why are you doing this to Axel?"

"It was his idea." Smith replied. "You kids have been through enough already."

Xion looked extremely conflicted, but slowly nodded her head. She didn't like it one bit…but Axel was as stubborn as a mule. If he set his mind to something, there was no way she could change it.

* * *

It was only a few moments later that Smith was called away, leaving the group of friends standing on one of the docks at the port. Smith asked them to stay there for now and keep out of sight. After all, no one but the ones on the ship knew what Roxas did. And for all intents and purposes, she wanted to keep it that way.

Not much was said between the group of friends and that was fine. Just being around each other was enough emotional support. They did share a few words with Piper and Mako until a frantic police officer showed up.

The officer was a skinny looking guy who was riding a bicycle up to them. His right arm was in a sling and he and he had a few bruises on his face, but he looked extremely relieved when he saw Piper and Mako.

Piper practically strangled the guy in a hug, gushing about how scared she was while Mako attempted to jump out of the water and onto the docks.

After a few moments of confusion from the younger group of friends, the two Liminal girls introduced the cop to everyone else. Surprisingly, the cop was actually their host. Not only that, but it turns out he was jumped on his way home after patrol. Seemed the traffickers didn't want to take any chances that he would radio for help while they were in the middle of their dirty deeds.

After a few more words, it was time for Mako and Piper to bid farewell to the group. It was late in the night and they desperately wanted to get some nice sleep.

"Hey Yukiko…" Piper said, reaching her arms out to the yeti. Yukiko smiled before she eagerly embraced the Lamia. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

"Of course!" She said with a happy smile. "I have a lot of good friends looking out for me."

"That you do…" She said as she peered over at the young blond boy who was currently talking with Pyra. "He's a keeper, that one. Make sure you stake your claim…or you'll end up like us."

Yukiko blushed a bit before raising an eyebrow. "Like you?"

"Yar! She means us fightin over the same man!" Mako interjected. Yukiko glanced over at the Shark-girl, who also smiled and held her arms out to her. "C'mere you!"

Yukiko laughed as she walked over to Mako and leaned down to give her a hug too. It was a little awkward because she was sitting on the ground.

"Good luck and keep in touch, ya here?"

"I will!" Yukiko said as she released her hold and stepped away, allowing the officer to pick up the shark-girl.

It wasn't long before the three were walking away in the distance, leaving the kids waiting for there respective hosts to pick them up…barring Yukiko. Smith said she would take care of the Yeti until she decided what she wanted to do.

"I think we would all like to forget tonight." Roxas murmured as he turned to the ocean. The others started up a conversation while waiting for Kimihito and Polt to show up. Roxas, Xion, and Suu decided to wait until Smith was done with her business at the docks because they didn't want to leave Yukiko on her own, not after everything that happened.

But everyone was exhausted, barely able to keep their eyes open now that the adrenaline had worn off.

It was now early in the morning now. So early that Roxas watched as the earliest rays of sunlight began to peak over the horizon. It was…gorgeous to witness, so much so that he walked to the end of the dock and sat down to enjoy it.

The beams of sunlight reflected off the wavy waters, amplifying its rays. The sky lit up in a beautiful blue hue, signifying the cycle of a new day. Oddly enough, it also symbolized how he felt at the moment. With the light of the sun was beginning to push the darkness of night out of the sky.

Just like how despair and anger overtook Roxas's entire being. It wasn't until he rescued Yukiko and knew she was safe that light began to break through the darkness. Just like the slowly rising sun pushed the night away, the light gradually began to overcome the darkness. It didn't happen all at once, but little by little, the light returned to dominate the sky.

Just like the sun, the dark feeling that overtook Roxas began to melt away, giving place for something else…

Something much more…

"beautiful." Roxas said out loud, unable to stop himself.

"It is…"

Roxas felt someone sit down next to him and interweave her arms with his. A head of white hair nuzzled against his unhurt shoulder.

"Thank you…"

Usually, Roxas would have asked what she was thankful for…but as time went on, he began to understand. He didn't need to say that there was no reason for her thanks. He saved her because she was his friend, not because he wanted her thanks…but she already knew that.

She was just expressing her gratitude, repaying him the only way she could at the moment.

"You're welcome…But Yukiko…" Roxas said, drawing the attention of young girl. "Please…next time you think something is wrong, please let us know. Please let up help you…"

Yukiko glanced downward, realizing what he was getting at. For the longest time, she knew something was off about Akio, but she didn't say anything or ask for any help.

"I…I didn't want to bother you with my problems. I didn't want to be a burden to my friends after I finally made some…"

Roxas gave a long sigh. "Since when is it a burden to help friends?"

Yukiko's lower lip trembled as tears threatened to escape her eyes again. She glanced over at the rising sun before looking over at Roxas once again. The morning rays gently caressed his skin and the light breeze from the ocean made his hair dance.

 _"_ _You better stake your claim…"_

Whether it was the influence of the full moon, taking Piper's advice to heart, or her own actions, the Yeti didn't know. But what she did know was how amazing it felt to finally pull Roxas down by the collar of his coat and gently press her lips against his. The Kiss lasted for a few seconds before she pulled away, giggling at the bright redness of his cheeks and the stunned look on his face.

"I promise."

* * *

 **Authors Note: Well, it took a little over a month to get this chapter out, so I think it's an improvement. This was an aftermath chapter, so not much happened despite the word count. Next chapter will be a little lighter. I think we all need it after an arc like this.**

 **Axel decided to take the blame this time around. That will make it easier for everyone else, but things will sure be interesting for our favorite red-head nobody.**

 **If you enjoyed the chapter, leave a review please. I really appreciate it.**

 **Until then!**


	20. Chapter 20 : Day 50

**Authors Note: Hey Everyone! Thanks again for the comments on the last chapter. I think it's time for something a little more lighthearted for the next few chapters. We will have another arc in the future, but the main purpose of this story was to be a sort-of anthology story. A soft of slice of life fanfiction of how someone like Roxas would interact with the world around him. To me, I've realized that Anthology-style entertainment is my favorite kind of storytelling. And it's the funniest to write in my opinion.**

 **So, without further delay, please enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 20

Day 50

Roxas yawned loudly as he slowly sat up from his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He looked around the familiar room before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Glancing down at Suu's pool, he realized she wasn't there again. It made sense because her morning schedule always included hydrating herself before he got up. The nobody remembered teaching her this habit after he woke up one morning covered in slime because she wanted to use his sweat to hydrate herself. That was a very awkward morning.

Placing his feet on the cold floor, Roxas stretched his arms, warming his muscles for the day. He rotated his shoulder a few times, the bullet wound from the incident completely healed. However, it did leave a scar because he wasn't able to heal it all the way right after it happened. But the nobody didn't mind. In fact, Pyra said it was pretty badass to have a sexy scar…whatever that meant.

Speaking of which.

Roxas glanced down at his night stand and spotted the cell phone. He reached over and picked it up before turning it on, feeling some anticipation.

 _No new messages_

The nobody gave a sigh as he placed the phone back down and moved around the room to get ready for the day. It was a bit disheartening to see his empty inbox for the past 10 days.

* * *

 _"_ _In other news, MON member Axel, has once again defended himself against another angry family member of someone he killed that night at the dock. The man was reportedly rushed to the hospital after receiving second and third degree burns after he rushed the witness stand with a knife. Witnesses in the court say Axel was just defending himself and whatever the man did deserved it."_

 _"_ _I mean, can you really blame the guy? Did you hear what Axel said to that family after they accused him of murdering their son?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, something along the lines of 'Well, you shouldn't have raised a kidnapper, rapist, and murderer. If you'd done a better job at being a parent, maybe he would still be alive.' Even if the son did all those things, that kind of reply is…cold. That family lost their son and Axel doesn't seem to show any kind of remorse."_

 _"_ _While that may be true, most people agree with him. After all, not many would side with Traffickers. And despite what judges and Lawyers say, most of the internet has poured out their support for what Axel, no matter how violent it was. I mean, just the other day, another Lawyer who tried to pin Axel with an excessive violence crime had his tries slashed, his car spray-painted with vulgar words, and all his windows smashed."_

 _"_ _That's a bit excessive."_

 _"_ _True, but people are angry about the whole situation, both human and Liminal alike. If someone even hints at being on the Traffickers side, they will face the wrath of the public."_

 _"_ _Speaking of which, did you see how many people were at the protest today? More Human and Liminal gather outside of city hall every morning to protest against some of the current laws. Most are blaming them as the main reason the incident occurred."_

 _"_ _Yeah, as the crowds continue to grow, more pressure is placed on city hall to change some of the rules. It's only a matter of time before the public gets what they want."_

Kimihito took a break from breakfast preparations before drying his hands and turning off the Television. The screen went black and the stream of information stopped, allowing Kimihito to sit back on the couch and give a long sigh. The past week has been a roller-coaster of emotions for everyone in the Kurusu household. When Smith finally told him where Roxas, Xion, and Suu where, there was nothing that could stop him from rushing over to the harbor.

On the way there, his mind was sick with worry. Why would they do something so reckless and stupid! They took a deadly chance that could've gotten them killed. He knew they were worried about Yukiko, but to go after a Trafficking ring on their own, was suicide. Traffickers were professionals and wouldn't hesitate to kill them, even if they were kids.

When Kimihito did reach the Bay, he saw that the docks were alive with activity. Police were everywhere, rounding up criminals left and right, all the while rushing Liminal of all kinds to nearby hospitals.

He frantically looked around for the kids, asking a few police officers for any information. Eventually, he found all of them at the docks, comforting the Yeti. He was ecstatic to see that Yukiko had been rescued, but when he saw the state they were in, he couldn't help but cringe.

That was only the start of it all. Eventually he came to realize he handled the situation completely wrong when he learned what Roxas did.

* * *

 _Flashback_

"I'm sorry Kimihito…" Roxas said, his head lowering slightly.

When Kimihito arrived at the docks, Roxas felt conflicted. He was happy to see the person who had become somewhat of an older-brother figure, but he also didn't know how to meet his gaze. The Nobody remembered Kimihito's reaction when he realized Roxas wouldn't hesitate to kill Rachnera during the kidnapping. And now, the nobody had actually killed this time. He didn't know how Kimihito would react.

After the human finished checking up on them, making sure they were all right, Kimihito raised an eyebrow at the nobody. "About what?"

"…I…I killed them…."

Kimihito stared down at the boy wordlessly, his face unreadable. He was confused for a brief moment because Smith told him the same story she told everyone else, that it was Axel who saved everyone. So, when he heard the words come out of Roxas's mouth, realization began to envelop him. His stomach dropped when he knew exactly what Roxas was trying to say.

"I…was so angry…And I couldn't think of anything else to do…I had too…"

"Roxas…Axel didn't…You were the one on the ship…weren't you?"

Slowly, Roxas nodded.

Kimihito felt his blood run cold. He saw the state of the ship, the sheer destruction of the haul, and the state of the crew as they were rushed into ambulances or packed into body bags. There was so much destruction that he didn't even think the young boy was capable of causing it. It was…

Frightening…

"I had to…I had to do it…"

"Had to what, Roxas?" Kimihito asked, his arms slowly folding, a frown on his face.

"I had to kill them."

"Had too…or wanted too…" Kimihito's eyes narrowed this time.

Roxas looked up at the man, flinching a little when he saw the familiar look of disappointment in his eyes. He hated that look so much.

But the question caught the nobody off guard a little. Of course, he had to kill them because they were armed, but a piece of him also wanted to see them dead. After what they did, they didn't deserve the privilege to exist.

"…Both" Roxas said quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Roxas, didn't you try to think of a better way to handle it?" Kimihito asked sternly.

"Hey, Back the fuck off!"

Both Kimihito and Roxas flinched when they heard a vicious snarl. They turned to see Pyra storming over to them, her paws clenched in anger and licks of fire spurting from her eyelashes.

"Pyra, stay out of-" Kimihito started to say.

"You think we had a choice?" Pyra interrupted. "They were armed! They took hostages! What else were we supposed to do?"

"We?"

"Yes we! We didn't sit around with our thumbs up our ass! We had a friend in trouble!" Pyra snarled, more flames erupting from her eyelashes.

"…Did you have to kill them though?"

"YES!"

Surprisingly, it wasn't Roxas or Pyra that yelled this time.

It was Yukiko.

She also stormed up to them, quickly followed by Suu and Xion. Her light blue eyes were narrowed in anger, a look that was so rare to her. By far, the one most surprised by her response was Kimihito.

"Yukiko…why would you…"

Yukiko pointed at him, her glaring eyes making him falter a little. "Don't you DARE scold Roxas for killing them! Until you've been kidnapped, locked to a wall, and threatened to have your mouth sewn shut if you made a sound, I don't want to hear another word from you!"

Kimihito blinked a couple times, completely blown away by Yukiko's attitude.

"They were going to SELL US! Who knows what would have happened had Roxas not done what he did! They didn't deserve to live!"

Kimihito frowned again and opened his mouth to say something, but Pyra cut him off.

"And if you DARE say it's not our right to make that choice, I will GUT you!" Pyra growled. "It's became our right when they kidnapped our best friend! It became our right when THEY decided it was THEIR right to sell her off. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same Kimihito! If Miia, Centorea, Papi, or Mero were in the same position, would you have waited around and did NOTHING?"

Kimihito hung his head because he knew the answer to that question. And it wasn't one they would like. To be honest, he would've probably done nothing because he didn't have the power to do anything at all…But if he did…would he saved them? Would he kill to ensure they would be rescued? Or would he wait for the police to do their job. He honestly couldn't answer that question right now.

"You know what, Screw it! You're out of your mind if your going to reprimand someone for saving their friends!" Pyra said angrily. "So, Fuck Off!"

 _Flashback end_

* * *

Ever since that confrontation, there was an awkward atmosphere between Kimihito, Roxas, and his friends. Pyra and Yukiko rarely came around anymore because it was just way too tense. The once playful and fun atmosphere was gone, and everyone in the household noticed.

Every time Kimihito saw the nobody, he didn't know what to think. On one hand, the boy killed without hesitation. That kind of person was dangerous. But on the other hand, he did it in order to save a friend.

Kimihito had to ask himself if that was wrong. After all, there were certain conditions that made killing justified. And in Roxas's case, anyone would agree that what he did was for a good cause.

But it still tore at him to think like that. Killing in any sense was wrong…right?

The pondering human picked up the remote and flipped the tv back on as he went back to making breakfast. As he scrambled the eggs, Kimihito wished he had someone else to talk to about this. After hearing Smith's plan in making Axel the only one responsible, Kimihito didn't tell anyone else in the household about what Roxas, Pyra, and Suu had done. It made things difficult when they asked why Kimihito's relationship with Roxas was strained at the moment.

But unfortunately, one member of the household figured out the whole truth. It was an unlucky coincidence that someone had to be waiting outside for them when they arrived at the house.

Rachnera.

When Kimihito was taking Roxas and Xion home, she had been watching on the roof. Even as he tried to sneak Roxas in through the back door in order to clean the blood off him, the Spider woman saw everything. And Rachnera was intelligent enough to put the pieces together.

Kimihito sighed as he flipped an omelet. He knew he couldn't talk to Rachnera about this either because it was clear the spider woman was in favor of Roxas's actions. She didn't have much love for humans, and her views of justice were similar to the young boy's.

* * *

 _Flashback_

Roxas, Kimihito, Xion, and Suu didn't say a word to each other as they made their way back to his house. Polt had picked up Pyra while Yukiko went along with Smith. It would've been a more amusing scene when Polt tackled the Hellhound to the ground, crying about how worried she was and nearly suffocating her with affection. When she was finished, it was everyone else's turn.

He could see the regret on Roxas's face for making the Kobold worry like that. It made Kimihito a little happy to witness, but he was also disappointed when Polt expressed how proud she was that they risked there lives to save their friend. He expected Her to reprimand them for being so reckless, but that didn't happen.

Now that it was just Kimihito, Roxas, Xion, and Suu he didn't know what to say. He was way to conflicted emotionally to carry on a conversation with either of them, especially after what they did to save Yukiko.

It wasn't long before the house was in view. All of the lights were one, meaning that no one was asleep. Everyone was worried about Roxas, Yukiko, Pyra, Xion, and Suu, especially when they learned what happened to the Yeti.

When they approached the door, Kimihito turned to the two youngest members of the household before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handkerchief.

"Here, clean off your face and give me your coat." He said to Roxas.

Roxas raised an eyebrow but complied. He unzipped his coat and gave it to the man before taking the handkerchief and wiping off his face. Xion was much cleaner, so he didn't need to wash her coat.

"We…we should stick with Smith's story about how Axel did everything." He said slowly. "We really don't need them to worry."

"I guess so." Roxas agreed.

"Is that blood!"

Kimihito, Roxas, and Xion jumped as they looked up to see a familiar spider woman hanging from the side of the house in the shadows. Her six eyes were wide as she lowered herself to the ground via her webs. Instantly, she skittered over to Roxas, staring at the boy's face which still had smears of blood on it.

"What happened! Are you ok kid?" She said. She glanced over at Xion, inspecting her for any traces of blood, but didn't find any.

Kimihito and Roxas looked at each other, both knowing that Rachnera saw more than she should of.

"It was nothing…Roxas just got…"

"Bullshit!" Rachnera growled, moving closer to Roxas and grasping his face with her sharp hands. The Spider-woman took a closer look at the smears on his face before looking at the coat in Kimihito's hands. The Spider Liminal was a smart woman so it didn't take long for her to put two and two together.

"This isn't your blood, is it?" She more stated than asked.

Kimihito and Roxas glanced at each other again before the human gave a sigh. There was no way he could lie to Rachnera now. If he did, she would never trust him again. He gestured to Roxas to let him know it was ok to talk about it.

"Most of it isn't…"

"M-Most of it!?" Rachnera gasped before she noticed a hole in his shirt, right at the shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Roxas said as he brushed her hands off his face. "I only got shot once."

"Y-YOU WERE SHOT!" The Spider woman yelled loudly. She didn't even ask Roxas's permission as she grabbed his undershirt and literally ripped it off so she could see.

"Hey!"

"Oh my God!" Rachnera whispered when she saw his arm caked in dried blood. There was a raw looking bullet shaped wound on his shoulder where the bullet entered and exited. "Please tell me you killed them! No, please tell me you tortured them slowly, flaying the flesh off there bones, then killed them!"

"Rachnera!" Kimihito said, his voice filled with shock.

"I didn't have a choice…" Roxas said slowly, his head lowering. He somewhat expected Rachnera to act the same way as Kimihito. He didn't want to see those disappointed eyes anymore. "They…they were going to take Yukiko…they were going to do…what they did to that other girl…"

"That other girl…" Rachnera echoed. "What are you talking about?"

Slowly, Roxas met Rachnera's gaze, the pain in his eyes clearly showing. "When I was on the ship, one of the men…did something to a girl there. She was…beaten up, her clothing ripped and barely hanging on…and the way she looked at me…she was horrified…"

Rachnera felt sick…Even though Roxas didn't fully understand what happened, she knew. Her sharp fingers dug into his shoulders slightly, causing him to wince. He lowered his gaze again, thinking she was mad at him.

"They…if I didn't do something, then that might've been Yukiko…" Roxas said, fury building up in his veins again. "So, I killed them…"

"Good…"

Roxas paused a moment, his eyes widening slightly as he looked up again into the spider woman's eyes. Instead he found his head pulled into her chest, his face sinking into the valley of her cleavage. Her sharp hands curled around his head and her fingers feathered through his hair gently.

This was unlike anything Roxas had felt before. All night, nearly everyone he talked to besides his friends said that killing those people was a bad thing, and that he was wrong for doing so…but now…The usually teasing spider woman was telling him it was ok. She was trying to comfort him. Trying to tell him that what he did was the right thing.

A strange, comforting feeling spread through the Nobody's body. It felt like a warm blanket when he realized she understood what he was trying to do. He didn't want to kill those men…well…he sort of did, but it was his only option if he wanted to save Yukiko.

And she was telling him that it was alright.

"What you did…" Rachnera said, gently stroking the back of his head. "Just know that if no one else does, you have my full support. I'm proud of you Roxas…I'm proud you would go so far to save your friends."

If he could, the nobody would have hugged her back, but he just stood there, letting the soothing strokes of her hands calm his fiery rage and heavy heart.

"Thank you…" Roxas mumbled into her breasts.

Kimihito didn't know what to think of the situation. Firstly, he didn't even know Roxas was shot, and like Rachnera, he was completely horrified when he saw the wound. Secondly, he had no idea that Roxas saw a Liminal woman who was Raped, beaten, and tortured. That would make anyone furious…especially if you thought one of your friends could have ended up like that.

But…

Did that make it right to kill all those people?

Wisely though, Kimihito decided to keep his mouth shut because he knew sharing his thoughts might ruin the comforting scene in front of him.

 _Flashback end_

* * *

Kimihito gave another long sigh when he witnessed the aftermath. Rachnera reluctantly agreed to keep it a secret from everyone else in the house, but it did anger her that Roxas would not be able to take any credit for saving the live of so many people. But she also understood the consequences. Not only would the law be after them, but they would have to watch there backs everywhere they go because someone might come after them for revenge.

That meant attacking Friends and Family of everyone involved.

This was apparent with how many times Axel had to defend himself against an angry relative or business associate. There were more than a few who were sent to the hospital with major burns and lacerations, but Axel was acute enough to never be caught off guard. He also didn't have many who he was close to, and everyone that was friends with him knew how to defend themselves.

It was different for Roxas, Xion, and Pyra because they went to school. The entire school would be put at risk if people found out Axel wasn't the only one who killed people that day. And because of the media coverage, Axel's name was known by almost everyone in Japan.

Speaking of which, every news station in Japan was talking about what happened at the bay. Constant debates about Liminal Rights were brought up at every turn, and the internet was literally on fire with people who fiercely fought over if Axels actions were appropriate or not.

Just imagining those poor kids at the center of this whole fiasco was sickening to think about.

But despite everything that was going on, one of the worse fallouts was with someone in the house.

Kimihito was getting use to everyone's strange quirks in the house. From Miia's passion, Papi's playfulness, Centorea's chivalry…But when it came to Mero's fetish for Tragedy, she took it way too far this time.

And Roxas was not happy when she brought it up.

* * *

 _Flashback…_

Roxas had managed to sneak in the back door and change into some cleaner clothing. It would spark a lot of questions if everyone saw him covered in blood. He even managed to grab a quick shower to clean off his wound. It was still pretty sore because he used up all his magic for the day. First thing tomorrow, he would be able to cast a higher-level Cure spell to take care of it, but for now he just had to bear with the pain.

As Roxas walked down the hallway to the living room, he heard conversation from the other tenants. Of course, the nobody could already hear Kimihito and Xion being blasted with question after question from the others. They were asking so many questions that they didn't have any time to get a word in.

"Xion! We were so worried about you! What were you thinking!?" Miia's voice rang through the house.

"I'm ok Miia…but could you loosen up please. I think I lost feeling in my legs…" Xion mumbled quietly.

Roxas gave a small smile as he approached the doorway. The self-proclaimed big sister of Xion and Roxas was worried about them. It felt nice to hear that someone cared about them that much.

"Oh, I'm sorry…Darling! Did you find Yukiko?"

"Master, what is going on? Who hath taken our dear friend! I shall show them the edge of my sword!"

"What is everyone talking about? Hubby? Papi is confused?"

Roxas was about to enter the living room when Mero's comment stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Isn't it wonderful? A tragedy! Yukiko was kidnapped and we will never see her again! Oh, I envy Roxas and Xion so much. Their hearts are heavy with worry and their minds swimming with regret, wishing for the chance to tell her how much she meant to them!"

Roxas stood at the doorway completely frozen. He wasn't the only one though because everyone else turned toward the deranged mermaid, there eyes wide with disbelief. Miia's mouth was opening and closing like a fish, her brain trying to process what the mermaid just said. She didn't even notice that she wasn't crushing Xion in a hug anymore.

Xion also wasn't paying attention because her mouth was agape and her eyes narrowing dangerously. Centorea was a bit more composed, but a look of disgust crossed her lips. She was use to Mero's affinity for tragedy, but to say something so distasteful was less than chivalrous.

Papi was too confused to understand.

Kimihito was a loss for words. Even if she enjoyed tragedy, to wish they would never find a friend just for the chance to experience tragety was…horrible. He was about to tell them Yukiko had been rescued, but he was in such disbelief that he couldn't form words right now.

Their reaction did little to quell her fantasy because she just continued. "And now she may be sold off to the highest bidder, forced into a life of servitude, never to escape again. Isn't it amazing? Can't you feel the eternal sadness that will never heal?"

 _CRACK_

Everyone's eyes turned to the boy standing in the doorway of the living room. His hand was grasping the frame so hard it was reduced to splinters. His blue eyes were ablaze with fury and his teeth ground together.

"What the fuck it wrong with you!?"

The sheer rage in his voice shook the mermaid from her fantasy as she turned her wheel chair to face the nobody. She cocked her head, trying to be cute as her eyebrows scrunched together to form a confused expression. "Whatever do you mean? This is a momentous event! A tragedy! One you will remember and think back on for the rest of your life! You are blessed to have such an event happen to y-"

"SHUT UP!" Roxas roared as he stormed over to her. Without warning, white energy began to seep from his body again, shocking everyone who was watching. This was the first time any of them seen Roxas do anything that was remotely inhuman, so they could only stare as he approached.

Kimihito was surprised as well but read the situation and put himself between the two. "Roxas, calm down!"

"Calm Down!?" Roxas hissed at the man. "What do you mean calm down? She just said it was a good thing that Yukiko got kidnapped!"

"I know, but that's just the way she-"

"You think her being kidnapped was a good thing!?" Roxas asked, ignoring Kimihito and pointing at the Mermaid.

The one in question was clearly shocked by his attitude. Usually Roxas was calm and composed, but now he was furious. Truthfully, it was turning her on a little to see him so distraught about the whole thing. A small blush formed on her cheeks and she put her hands together.

"Well, yes…"

"ITS NOT!" Roxas roared, a burst of white energy exploding from his body. It twisted angrily around him, causing most of the other house mates to flinch back away from it. "You weren't there! You didn't how frightened everyone was! You didn't see Yukiko locked to a crate with a bag over her head. How can you say something like that was a good thing!"

"Roxas, calm dow-"

"NO!" Roxas continued. "She cried! Sobbed when I found her! She was about to end up like that other girl who was beaten and tortured to the point where she couldn't even look at me without getting scared!"

Despite the powerful energy that emulated through the room, the other tenants faces paled when Roxas described what he saw. Even Mero was starting to look uncomfortable.

"How can you say that's a good thing!? Aren't you supposed to be her friend? Did you want to see her kidnapped so badly? What the FUCK is wrong with you!"

"Roxas…"

Roxas suddenly felt a pair of cold appendages wrap around him from the back. Instantly, he tried to shake off whatever was holding him, but a cool feeler attached itself to the back of his head. A familiar clarity and calmness filled his soul, along with a hint of sadness. He didn't even need to look to see who it was because only one person was this good at calming him down. Slowly, the light energy began to die down, but his anger remained prevalent. He leveled the mermaid with one more glare, one so hostile it caused her to flinch.

"Don't ever come near me again. You wanted a tragedy? You wanted to lose one of your friends today? Well congratulations, you did." He said as he turned and stormed off to his room, Suu quietly following behind.

 _Flashback end_

* * *

Things had been extremely tense from then on. Roxas avoided Mero like the plague, and Mero was unusually quite the past week. Truthfully, Kimihito couldn't blame Roxas for his outburst because what Mero said was disgusting.

And the mermaid could see everyone else was disgusted with her as well. It turned the once wonderful atmosphere in the house…strained.

Unfortunately, the night didn't end there because there were a lot of questions about the strange power Roxas displayed, but not even Kimihito knew the answer to that, so he didn't fill them in. And none of them wanted to ask Roxas directly.

Kimihito understood why though.

He scared them with that little display.

* * *

"So, is anything getting better at the house?"

Roxas slowly shook his head as he, Pyra, and Xion walked down the street in the direction of school.

"It's still awkward." Roxas said.

"Damn, I still can't believe fish-face would say something like that. I mean, I get that mermaids like the whole tragedy thing, but to actually wish someone wouldn't be saved just to experience one…"

"Yeah, it was disgusting, no other way to explain it." Xion said, a sour look on her face. "It really made me upset."

"Yeah, but not as upset as Roxas though, right?" Pyra asked, elbowing Roxas in the side.

"I nearly attacked her." Roxas said with no shame.

"Still, it's a bummer that everything is so awkward now. I mean, with Kimihito acting like a total bitch, Mero getting turned on by Yukiko's kidnapping, and everyone else getting mixed up in the crossfire, I can't help but miss how it was there."

Roxas couldn't help but agree. Ever since Yukiko was rescued, the house was different. There wasn't as much laughter as before. Kimihito was always wary and jumpy every time the nobody was around, and the rest of the housemates seemed to be affected by the whole thing. And through it all, there was one common denominator…

Him.

Was it his fault things were like this now?

"Do you think it would be better if I left?" Roxas asked suddenly.

"Wh-What?" Pyra said. "What do you mean leave?"

"I mean leave the house and live somewhere else." Roxas continued as the three of them got their tickets to the train. "I think I'm the reason it's like that. So, do you think things would be better if I didn't live there?"

Xion didn't like where his train of thought was going. She was still pretty new to the house and it would feel really uncomfortable without Roxas living there with her.

"Eh, who knows." Pyra said after a few moments. "In my opinion, the only reason it's like that is because of Kimihito and Mero. It's not like you did anything wrong."

"Yeah, I guess." Roxas said as the three got onto the train. "I don't regret killing them…because of what they would've done…"

"Speaking of which, have either of you gotten any messages from our favorite Yeti?" Pyra asked.

Roxas and Xion shook there heads the negative, which caused Pyra to let out a sigh. "I haven't either. Man, I'm gonna smack her a good one for making us worry like this."

"Go easy on her Pyra." Xion said. "She went through a lot and needs time to recover."

"I know that! But even if she is spending time with her family right now, the lest she could do is send us a message. It's been over a week damn it! We're her friends."

Roxas agreed with her there. It had been over a week since Yukiko went home to be with her family for a bit. According to smith, her parents practically demanded she come home. What worried Roxas, Xion, and Pyra was whether or not the Yeti was going to return. They hadn't received so much as a text from her since she left.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it besides giving her time." Roxas mumbled.

"Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

It was the end of another day at school and everyone was packing up after the last bell rang. Listening to the chatter around the classroom, Roxas noticed that the common topic was the same as the media. People were still talking about it, students, teachers, and the public.

The Trafficking incident.

It had been the gossip of the town since it was broadcasted to every news station in japan, as well as in other countries. Even students were debating with each other about what should change and what shouldn't when it came to Liminal laws.

Heck, Kichi didn't even approach them and harass them about it. Though she was pretty biased against Liminal kind, even she had enough tact not to say anything insensitive about the situation. After all, she and everyone else knew that Yukiko was one of the victims.

Despite Axel taking the brunt of the credit, Roxas, Pyra, and Xion were recognized as invaluable participants who found out where the operation was taking place. And because of that, the media later discovered why they got involved in the first place, to save their friend. And of course, the Media couldn't resist a juicy story when they had one, so Yukiko's name was Broadcasted across multiple stations.

Of course, Roxas, Xion, and Pyra faced a little harassment from the average reporter trying to get a quote, but thankfully they were driven away by Kimihito. After a few days of trying, they eventually gave up in order to pursue the more interesting side of the story…Axel.

Consequently, Yukiko was recognized as one of the victims by everyone in the classroom. Not even Kichi could badmouth the Yeti after knowing what happened to her. In fact, none of the usual school bullies picked on them anymore. They didn't talk to them, or provide their condolences, but it was a breath of fresh air to not deal with them. It didn't stop others from asking questions about the event though. Most notably, the newspaper club.

Speaking of which…

"Roxas! Ichiro! Sup guys!"

"Oh boy…" Pyra growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously…

Currently, everyone was gathered in the Photography club room for there usual meeting. They decided to put the gallery on hold until they figured out if Yukiko was coming back or not, but that didn't stop them from just hanging out with each other after school.

The entire photography club looked over to see a handsome individual standing there in the doorway. He had black hair, black fir covering his arms and legs, and sharp canine ears. His face looked handsome, but a smug grin crossed his lips…and it was also important to note that there were four large scratches across his face and his left eye was swollen shut.

"You back for more, you perverted wolf?" The hellhound growled.

"Oh, c'mon you still angry about me coping a feel on that sweet ass."

"Go die in a hole!"

"Yesh, I feel sorry for the guy who asks you to prom."

"What do you want Gin?" Roxas asked.

Gin grinned at the boy before pulling a notebook and pin out of seemingly nowhere. "I just wanted a quote. You three and Yukiko have been in the news all week now. People know you were involved, they just don't know the details! This is the story that everyone in the school needs to know. I mean, getting the inside scoop of the kids who actually found out where one of the biggest trafficking rings in Japan was? I'm just salivating at the story already."

"I bet you're salivating about other things too…" Pyra said angrily. "And we don't have anything to say to you."

"C'mon! Please! This story is too juicy to let die!"

"GIN!"

Suddenly, a pan appeared out of nowhere right above Gin before crashing down on his head.

"Leave them Alone, Desu!" a smaller voice said as a tiny girl rushed into the room with a wand in her hand. She was followed by a group of individuals, both Human and Liminal alike.

"We are so sorry about this! Please ignore our club leader."

"Yeah, this Pervert is always trying to feel up every girl he sees."

"Yeah…I noticed." Callie said. This whole time she was hiding behind Ichiro because Gin had groped her more than once in past meetings. The Photography club turned to see the two individuals who addressed them. One was a blue haired girl with a long, black tail and black bat-wings. She gave them a friendly smile before turning to the wolf and giving him a good kick in the stomach.

The other girl looked practically human, but they knew she wasn't. She had long pink hair, large green eyes, and a kind, yet timid smile. She was also one of the school's idols and had the reputation for being the most beautiful girl in there year. According to word around the school, she was a vampire. Normally that would have been illegal, but her nature was suppressed by her Rosario, which granted her a spot at this school.

"Ah, Moka, Kurumu, what are you doing here?" Xion asked, already familiar with the group. Ichiro had introduced them in the past since they would be working together on a few projects.

"Sorry, we saw Gin sneak away and we thought he might be here…again." Said the only human in the newspaper club as he entered the room. He was an average looking guy with brownish hair.

"Tsukune…" Roxas greeted.

"Hey Roxas." Tsukune said before turning to the others. "Xion, Ichiro, Callie…Pyra."

"Hey kid, how's the harem?" Pyra asked, a teasing grin on her face.

It was like a textbook reaction from the human…meaning his face turned bright red. Every time he was around the hellhound, she would make a comment on how nearly every girl in the newspaper club was fighting over him.

"Hey, don't get embarrassed. There is a simple solution. All you got to do is choose one. I swear, you and Kimihito are related because you're both indecisive as Fuck!"

"What are you talking about Hellhound!" Kurumu said, throwing herself at the human and planting his face deep in her impressive bosom. "Clearly he will choose me! Isn't that right Tsukune?"

"MMPH!"

"Kurumu! Get off him you cow…no offence Callie-Desu!" the little witch said, turning an apologetic smile to the Holstaurus.

"None taken…Yukari."

"Well, not even Kurumu's chest can compare to yours."

Nearly everyone in the room jumped in fright as another girl appeared out of nowhere, popping her head out from under the desk.

"When did she…" Roxas started.

"What did you say, you stalker!" Kurumu exploded with feminine fury.

"Please everyone, calm dow-" Moka started as an all out argue match broke out between the two girls. She gave a sigh and looked at the photography club apologetically. "I'm sorry this happens every time we stop by."

"Oh don't be, I'm enjoying it." Pyra said, flipping a few kernels of popcorn into her mouth.

"Where did you get that?" Ichiro asked.

"Get what?"

"…Never mind."

"Can we please get back on topic!" Gin asked, brushing the dust off his shirt. "We need to get this story right now! It's killing me not knowing what happened!"

"Aright listen." Pyra said. "You've been here every day for the past week trying to get an inside scoop. Why do you want it so bad?"

"Because it might help Liminal and human relationships in the school more."

The photography club glanced at each other.

"What do you mean?" Ichiro asked.

"What I mean is that things are about to change. Ever since the incident, the laws are being questioned by nearly everyone. Even other students are debating with each other, haven't you noticed?"

By this time, the fighting had stopped, and everyone was watching the leader of the photography club.

"And this has to do with the story…how?"

"Think about it! A story where a few students break all the rules in order to find their friend? How Human and Liminal joined hand in hand to thwart a kidnapping? How thrilling is that? It's a story that will inspire hope, trust between human and Liminal kind, and how a friendship can overcome all odds."

Roxas opened and closed his mouth a few times. He had to remind himself that everyone in this school thought he was human…even though he was classified as a Liminal. But they didn't need to know that right now.

"…You know, I might have believed you if you didn't grope my ass…" Pyra said. "But if it will get you to leave us alone, then fine."

* * *

Roxas was exhausted. Gin had literally grilled the three of them for information, so it was difficult to make sure their story was consistent without revealing too much. But the werewolf was like a bloodhound in the fact that he could sniff out inconsistencies in a story like a homing missile.

But in the end, the newspaper club was more than satisfied with the information they got. Gin was signing a happy tune as he dragged the rest of his club to their own room to get started on the story.

And true to his word, he promised to leave them alone…or at least until they were needed to take pictures of the next big story. Despite being as perverted as he was, no one could deny that Gin was dedicated to his work.

Currently, Roxas, Pyra, and Xion were making their way towards Polt's house. Hanging out at Pyra's aunts was the new tradition because Kimihito's house wasn't as appealing anymore. The atmosphere was awkward as hell, and even Kimihito's award winning chief abilities wasn't enough to remedy that.

There was one person who was very happy about the transition.

"Lil' Pyra!"

And as usual, the energetic Kobold greeted them all with her signature group hug that somehow managed to encompass all three of them. Polt was overjoyed that they decided to visit her more often.

"Auntie! Aren't you supposed to be taking care of the gym? What are you doing home?" Pyra asked, her eyebrow twitching in annoyance as she struggled out of the Kobolds grip.

"I closed up early because I couldn't miss the opportunity to see my favorite Niece."

"You literally see me every day!"

"I know!" Polt said with a huge smile, releasing Xion and Roxas before scooping Pyra up into another hug and twirling her around. "Isn't it great? Now I just need to hire a helping hand at the gym so I can greet you every day after school."

"You don't need to!"

Roxas chuckled as he watched Polt and Pyra banter back and forth. The one thing that didn't change that night was the Kobolds unending energy and cheerfulness.

That's not to say she wasn't worried. Far from it actually. When Polt arrived at the bay just after Kimihito, she tackled all of them to the ground, crying her eyes out. It was hard to tell if it was out of worry, happiness, or both, but she kept blubbering about how much she worried about them and how happy she was that they were all right.

Pyra felt a little guilty about making her aunt cry like that, but luckily the Kobold recovered quickly. It did result in Polt becoming a bit clingier to her than she was before. And surprisingly, Pyra endured it because she still felt responsible for putting her aunt through such emotional turmoil.

"How was your day…auntie?" Xion asked awkwardly. The young puppet was still trying to get use to all the displays of affection from those around her, especially from Polt. The Kobold even insisted that she, Roxas, and Yukiko also call her Auntie as well. It was a bit strange for her, but that didn't mean she didn't like it.

"Oh, it was great! Just a few more tests and we will be open for business. It's going to be a hit with Liminal and Humankind!" She beamed with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "So, why don't you three head up to Pyra's room and I will be up with some healthy snacks?"

Pyra blinked a couple times. It was very unlike Polt to say make that suggestion because she usually tried to get them to stop doing homework and test out some new equipment…or play a game of some kind…or just hang out with her.

"Yeah…" Pyra said, eyeing her aunts grin suspiciously. "We will do that then…"

The small group walked through Polt's massive house before they found themselves up in Pyra's room. Looking around, Roxas realized Pyra's room was a stark contrast to that of Yukiko's…baring the size alone. There was a small shelf littered with books and Manga near the far wall, a few dressers, a large bed next to the window, and darker decor covered the walls. It had a bit of a goth-like feel to it, but that made a lot of sense.

"So, what should we get started on today?"

It was a few moments later before Roxas, Xion, and Pyra found themselves in an intense study. They had their heads down, sitting around the Kotatsu and concentrating on a practice exam before they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in Auntie." Pyra said as she filled out more answers before chewing on the end of her pencil.

No one looked up as the door opened and someone walked in with a plate of heathy treats and a few cups of tea. They were so engrossed in what they were doing that they didn't react when the plate was placed in front of them on the table. Pyra just reached over while still looking down at her book and took a cup.

"So, what are we studying now?"

"Oh, Culture studies. Man, why is Lamia history so boring?" Pyra asked as she took a sip of her tea before freezing solid.

"Wow, weren't we just getting done with Harpy culture? I missed a lot while I was gone…mind filling me in?" The person said as soft footsteps made their way behind where Roxas was sitting.

Roxas stiffened when a familiar voice filled his ears. His body also tensed a little when a pair of fluffy arms circled around his neck from behind. A pair of soft mounds pressed against his upper shoulders and a warm cheek rested against the side of his head.

Instantly, all eyes snapped away from there books before locking onto the person kneeling behind Roxas. The person had a mischievous grin on her face.

"…"

There was the longest pause as everyone was trying to come to terms with who was kneeling there behind Roxas. Someone extremely familiar with white hair, dark brown skin, and a kind smile that could light up an entire room. She looked to be on the verge of laughing when she saw their faces.

"Y-YUKIKO?!" Pyra exploded finally, slamming her booklet closed.

The Yeti smiled again, pressing her body as close as possible to the boy in her grasp. "Sorry I was gone so long, but it took a while to convince my parents to let me come back. They really didn't want me to." She said, her smile slipping a little.

"Yukiko…" Roxas said quietly, catching her attention. "You're really back? For good?"

A small blush crawled up the Yeti's cheeks as she nodded slowly. "I am. I-I really wanted to go to school with you guys, and hang out, and…"

"Damn it Yukiko, why didn't you contact any of us!" Pyra hissed.

Yukiko's smile vanished by this point as her head hung slightly. "I'm sorry. My phone was destroyed by…" She went completely quiet, but everyone understood who she was talking about. "And I didn't remember any of your numbers. They were in my contacts…"

"Oh…" Pyra whispered. "Right…"

"Again, I'm sorry, but I didn't remember anyone's number, so I couldn't even contact Smith again. I had to wait until she checked up on me to let her know…that I wanted to come back." The Yeti explained.

"No, don't worry about it."

"Yukiko…"

Suddenly, Yukiko felt a warm hand reach up and grasp her forearm. His grip was firm, but gentle, and his thumb gently stroked the fur on her arm. She moved back a little when she saw his head turn toward her. Then their eyes met.

Deep blue met light turquoise and Yukiko was reminded of the little thing she did before she left. Her cheeks turn bright red, but she didn't turn away. His gaze was filled with warmth and the smile on his face was the same one that made her stomach flutter.

"Welcome back…"

Yukiko's lower lip trembled, his voice melting her heart into a puddle. Without any more hesitation, she constricted her arms around his neck much firmer, crushing the side of his face into her chest as a wide smile spread across her lips.

"Aww, it feels so good to hug you again!" Yukiko squealed, her usual energetic mood returning.

"…Only him?" Xion pouted cutely.

"Oh! No! I mean, I missed all of you! I really di-"

"Save it Yukiko!" Pyra said, a play full grin on her face as she stood. "Awe man! Now I feel left out, don't you Xion?"

"…Huh?"

Pyra rolled her eyes. "What I mean is…" She said, pointing at Yukiko and Roxas. "Yukiko made us worry about her, now I think she needs to be punished."

"Punished…how?"

"Oh for fucks sake! Take a hint already! Just hold her down!"

Yukiko's eyes widened when Pyra's predatory grin was on her. She held Roxas closer in mock worry. "You'll protect me, right Roxas? Roxas?"

Roxas was quiet for a few seconds before he pulled away from her and grinned. "Did you protect me against Pyra back when I…left?"

Yukiko's eyes widened again as her brain processed his words. But before she could react, Roxas weaseled his way out of her grip just as Pyra launch herself over the table. She slammed herself into the Yeti in a full body tackle and the two of them crashed to the ground. "You need to be punished for making me worry about you! How are you here anyway? How did you get into the house? You better talk, or else!"

Yukiko burst into giggles as the Hellhound suddenly pinned her down and started tickling her neck.

"Stop! Stop!" She squealed.

"Xion, Hold her arm down!"

"Right!"

Xion moved over to the downed Yeti before grabbing her arm and holding it to the ground. The puppet was a little unsure about what she was doing, but there was also a playful glint in her eyes.

"Roxas, hold her other arm down, she needs her armpits tickled."

"No! Anything but that!" Yukiko gasped in another fit of laughter.

"Then talk!"

"Ok! Ok! I give!" Yukiko gasped.

Pyra grin triumphantly as she maneuvered off the Yeti. The poor girl was breathing deeply, an occasional laughter spasmed through her body. She tried to sit up, but Xion was still holding her arm down.

"Um…Xion?"

"Oh, are we done already?" the puppet asked, releasing the Yeti.

"Oh, trust me, we are far from done here." Pyra grinned.

"Wha-"

"Never mind! So, spill it! What's going on?"

Yukiko finally composed herself before giving them a wide grin. "Well, my parents were really against me coming back, especially if I had to find another host. So, Smith had an idea."

"What idea?"

Before Yukiko could answer, the door burst open and a familiar Kobold entered the room with a look of triumph on her face. "It was my idea!"

"A-Auntie?" Pyra asked.

"That's right! I let Smith know that if my favorite Yeti ever wanted to come back, I would take her in and be her host!" She said proudly.

Everyone blinked a few times as they stared at the Kobold.

"Wait, you mean to tell me Yukiko is going to live here?" Pyra asked in disbelief, a hint of happiness in her voice.

"Yep! Yukiko is like a niece to me too, and I couldn't let one of your friends disappear from your life…not after it took so long for you to finally make some."

"Auntie!"

"You can do that? But you're a Liminal?" Xion said.

"My dear Xion. I am a business owner and am exempt from having a host. But that privilege also comes with an opportunity to be a host as well." Polt explained. "It allows me to hire Liminal employees who don't need to be accompanied by a host while they work."

Yukiko smiled happily. "Smith explained the situation to my parents and they agreed…reluctantly."

"So, everything is back to normal?" Roxas asked hopefully.

Yukiko beamed at him, a small blush on her face when she met his eyes. Through the entire time she was gone, there wasn't a day where she didn't think about her kiss. Truthfully, she wanted things to be the same, but she also wanted things to be a little different…more intimately different, but right now was not the best time for that.

"Yep! Everything is back to normal." She said after a moment of silence.

Pyra saw the look Yukiko was giving their mutual interest. She bit her lower lip in contemplation. They would need to talk about this soon, preferably as soon as possible.

* * *

It was great to have everyone back together again. No, in fact, it was much better than before because no one had to worry about taking Yukiko back to a horrible host now. Since she would be staying with Pyra and Polt from now on, it seemed things would be much better.

But…

As Pyra and Yukiko waved goodbye to Roxas and Xion, the hellhound glanced over at the overly happy Yeti. Despite what she had gone through just a week ago, Yukiko had already returned to the bundle of sunshine she always was. That was a factor noticeably missing from the group in her absence. She was the one who's infectious smile always managed to bring a little more light into the room.

And Pyra was very worried about losing that. But this…also needed to be addressed.

As Yukiko closed the door, she turned excitingly to Pyra.

"This is going to be so Awesome! I can't believe I get to live…here?" Yukiko trailed off. "Pyra?"

Pyra was giving her a very intent look. It was the look a child gives their parent when they want to tell them something but are unsure how to say it.

"Pyra…" Yukiko said, a bit of worry in her voice. "Is something wrong?"

The hellhound bit her lower lip, again looking uncertain. She didn't want to lose her friend…she really didn't. But the longer they put this off, the worse it would be later.

Her hesitation was really starting to worry the Yeti, causing her to take a couple steps forward. "Pyra…I'm sorry about not telling you…but Polt and I wanted it to be a surprise…" She said slowly. "I-I didn't mean to intrude and I'm sorry if this is a burden to you…"

Pyra blinked a couple times as Yukiko's words sank in. It caused her red eyes to widen slightly. "N-No! Are you stupid? That has nothing to do with it!"

"Oh!" A look of relief crossed Yukiko's face. "Then what's up?"

"We…We need to talk…Come to my room."

Yukiko couldn't help but be worried. The way Pyra was talking was so unlike her. Usually when she had something on her mind, the Hellhound would just come out and say what it was. But now she looked like she was beating around the bush. Because it was so out of character for her, it was a bit unsettling when Pyra closed the door behind them when they entered her room.

"So…" Yukiko started awkwardly. "What's up?"

Pyra licked her lips nervously, before growling in annoyance. "You know what, fuck it!" She erupted suddenly, causing Yukiko to flinch. "How was it?"

Yukiko blinked a couple times. "How was what?"

"The Kiss! How did you like Kissing Roxas!" Pyra said, a ting of pink on her cheeks.

"oh…OH!" Yukiko said as her entire face turned bright red. She brought her paws up to her lips as she felt her entire body grow a bit warmer. Her memories of the kiss returned with vigor, causing her to cover her face with her paws. "Why are you asking? It's embarrassing!"

"…Because…I want to know how it was…compared to…mine…"

"…"

Yukiko stopped cold in her tracks, any embarrassment was replaced by a brief moment of confusion. That was before she understood what Pyra was saying. Slowly, she lowered her paws and looked at the Hellhound, wide-eyed.

"Pyra…did you…Also…" She didn't even need to finish the sentence.

Pyra nodded as she gauged Yukiko's response. The Yeti reacted just how the hellhound thought she would. "It was when he…helped convince me to move on from my fear and finally move in with Auntie."

Yukiko was deadly quiet, simply listening to Pyra as she continued to talk. It was a little unnerving because the Hellhound didn't know what the Yeti was thinking.

"I-I couldn't help it!" Pyra tried defending herself. "The moon was almost full…I wasn't thinking straight and his delicious blood was leaking out of his mouth…"

"Pyra…"

"I know you have feelings for him, but I couldn't stop myself because…"

"Pyra!"

"Because I like him too!" Pyra finished, clenching her paws. There was no going back now. "So, I'm not sorry for what I did, but I also don't want to lose you as a friend…"

"PYRA!"

Pyra jumped a little when she felt Yukiko's soft paws on her shoulders, stopping her rant in it's tracks. She looked up to see a kind, but challenging smile on her lips.

"Listen, I kinda knew you liked Roxas as well…"

"Wha…"

"But just because we like the same guy doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"It doesn't?" Pyra asked quizzically. "But two girl that like the same guy always fight over him! I mean, just look at Kimihito and his Harem! Or even Tsukune."

"Yeah, but they're still friends with each other." Yukiko pointed out.

"Well…that's true I guess…" Pyra said awkwardly. "But I don't want it to be like that between us."

"Yeah, neither do I." Yukiko said cheerfully. "So, it's simple. Let's not let it get between us? Is that so difficult?"

"…That's oversimplifying it a bit…"

"True, but I like simple." Yukiko said. "I don't like arguing with you, and I'm going to be living here from now on, so let's just not fight about it. And you know what's funny?"

"What?"

"The only reason they fight is because they want Kimihito or Tsukune to choose one of them. They fight for his attention. But because Roxas has amnesia, he doesn't really understand the concept of romantic relationships." Yukiko laughed. "So, he wouldn't really understand what it means to choose someone."

"You know what, your right." Pyra laughed as well. "It's kinda funny, but sad when you think about it. I guess that means we have to wait until he understands a bit more. He was like a total blank slate when we first met him."

"Yeah, but he is getting better…" Yukiko said before a mischievous grin spreading across her lips. "So, how was YOUR Kiss with Roxas?"

"W-Wha…" Pyra stuttered. She was a bit perplexed by the sudden shift in conversation. Then she saw the grin on Yukiko's face. It was so obvious what the Yeti was trying to do, but the Hellhound wasn't going to play her game. Yukiko was playing on her turf, and Pyra wasn't going to let her friend/rival get the last laugh. "It was…hot!"

Pyra's answer caused Yukiko to nearly stumble over her own feet. Instead of the embarrassed reaction Yukiko was hoping for, the hellhound seductively traced her tongue over her upper lip.

"W-What?!"

"Oh yeah!" Pyra continued now that she had the Yeti's undivided attention. This was going to be fun. "Roxas spilled my little secret to Kimihito, so I gave him a good beating." She said, flexing her red claws.

"You-Wha-"

"I think he learned his lesson after he found himself on his ass with a busted lip. But them…" Pyra said, slowly sauntering up to the Yeti. She raised one claw and traced along the corner of Yukiko's mouth. Yukiko winced when she felt a tiny poke on her lip, but the combination of Pyra's storytelling and seductive demeanor froze her in place.

"I remembered how delicious his blood was, and with it pouring out of his mouth, I couldn't stop myself. I pushed him down, straddled him, and…" She continued, moving her face closer and closer to Yukiko's face with every word.

The dramatic pause was torture for the poor Yeti. Steam was pouring out of her ears as she listened to the juicy tail. She didn't even notice a small trail of her own blood was leaking down her chin from a tiny puncture wound.

"Well…why don't I give you a little demonstration?" Pyra said, a grin forming on her face as she quickly closed the distance between her and Yukiko. Her tongue gently trailing up the thin line of blood on the Yeti's chin.

The action was so unexpected and so shocking that Yukiko jolted away, loosing her footing and falling flat on her ass. Her entire head was steaming and her face was the same color as molten lava. Her hand was covering her mouth where Pyra nearly gave her a good smooch.

"Hmm…not bad. Not as exotic as Roxas's, but I'll give it a pass." Pyra said, licking her lips and enjoying the look on Yukiko's face.

"What did you-Why-Huh?" Yukiko sputtered.

"Awe, I didn't get to finish. I mean, your kiss was pretty innocent compared to mine." Pyra said, ready to put the final nail in the coffin. "Let's just say, there was only one possible way to taste all that delicious blood… from deep inside his mouth." She flicked her tongue for emphasis.

That did it for the Yeti. Her head erupted like a volcano of steam and her eyes swirled around in a daze. Blood dripped from her nose as she remembered the little demonstration Pyra gave her, causing her imagination to ignite like a stick of dynamite.

Pyra burst out laughing at the Yeti's reaction. It was far better than she ever could have imagined. "Yeah! That'll teach you to try and pull one on me!" Pyra gasped as she collapsed to the floor, banging her fist against the ground.

"Pyra! You Jerk!" Yukiko hollered as she launched herself from the ground and tackled the Hellhound.

* * *

 _BANG_

 _CRASSH_

 _SMASH_

Polt stopped typing on her computer as she looked around at the door to her bedroom, a smile on her face. The sound of two young girls yelling and laughing could be heard through the entire house and it filled her with so much happiness.

"Ahh, Youth." Polt said as she went back to crunching numbers for the gym. "If only you could see your daughter now…sister. You would be so proud of her."

* * *

It didn't take long, but eventually Pyra and Yukiko worn each other out. Then they just lay there on the ground with Pyra flat on her back, breathing deeply while Yukiko rested her head on the Hellhounds stomach. Comfortable silence followed for a few moments as they simply relished each other's company.

Yukiko turned her head to face one of her best friends, a challenging smile on her lips.

"I won't lose to you…"

Pyra chuckled a little. "Yeah? But do we really have to worry about that right now?"

"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked as he turned her head to get in a more comfortable position.

"I mean, we're just starting Highschool. Do we really need to worry about relationships right now?" The hellhound asked seriously.

"Well…"

"I just want to enjoy my high school life with my friends as long as I can." She said somberly, resting her paws behind her head. "Do we really need the drama of being in a relationship? Besides, Roxas doesn't even understand what a relationship means."

Yukiko didn't respond right away, because the Hellhound had a point. It was fun going to school with her friends. It was fun attending club meeting and laughing with everyone. Being in a more intimate relationship with her crush would've been icing on the cake…but was it really necessary right now?

"I know what you mean…but…"

Pyra understood the unspoken words instantly. "I'm not saying we shouldn't have a little fun though…"

Yukiko scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"I mean, I don't know about you, but I…" She licked her lips for extra emphasis. "Enjoyed my kiss. I might just do it again…"

"But, what about-"

"Oh, please Lil' Yeti. I know you're thinking the same thing…A kiss, or cuddle…or" She waggled her eyebrows. "Something a little intense more wouldn't hurt every once in a while. Besides, Roxas needs to learn this stuff somehow, right? Just nothing too serious, at least for now."

Yukiko's imagination went wild again, but she wasn't going to give Pyra the satisfaction of another reaction. "For now?"

"Yeah, for now. Because one day, I know I will want a little more." She said, throwing a challenging grin at Yukiko. "And when that time comes, I won't lose to you either."

"Deal!" Yukiko said, meeting the challenge with confidence. They remained there in silence for a few more moments until the Yeti poked Pyra's side to get her attention. "Pyra?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for coming to rescue me."

Pyra felt a warmth spread through her chest. She was truly grateful to have had such friends. Friends that would enjoy their time around her. Friends that would look forward to seeing her. Friends that would fight tooth and nail to help her, even if she didn't want it. Friends that would thank her when she did something for them.

She never thought she would have friends like that…and now they were right in front of her with happy and welcoming smiles.

She was truly grateful to have them and would always fight to protect them as well.

"…You're welcome."

* * *

 **Authors Note: Well, there you have it. This officially wraps up the Yukiko abduction arc. There will be a couple more arcs before this story ends. I have to pass off a question though. Should I have Roxas move out? I have an idea of where that could go. Or should he stay at Kimihito's for now? What do you think? Either could do.**

 **What did you think of the chapter? Please let me know and leave a review. Thank you so much for reading.**

 **Until then!**


	21. Chapter 21 : Day 55 - 56

**Authors Note: Hey Everyone. Wow, it was pretty divided about whether Roxas should leave or not. Thanks for all the feedback last chapter and giving your thoughts. It gave me a good idea as to what I want to do with this situation from here on out. On another note, A lot of you pointed out a very good observation that I plan to fix.**

 **The main cast.**

 **It's true they haven't been that involved in the story that much and I want to change that. Each character in the original cast is endearing in their own right…except for Papi honestly. She is probably my least favorite character in the entire series. Sure, she is playful, but she is dumb to the point where I can't see her having any deep moments with others. Even when they try to make her a better character by befriending difficult people, she doesn't see the significance of her own actions. She's just like "Let's play and be friends." And that's the extent of it. It makes it really hard to include her in anything that might have meaning or depth.**

 **But the other characters, I want to have a bigger part in this story. So that's what I plan on doing.**

 **Please enjoy the chapter and I apologize for taking so long. I was starting to write an original story, but I hit a wall and began working on this again so I could build my way over it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 21

Day 55

A Keyblade whipped around, bisecting a heartless in half before the creature dissipated into wisps of darkness. Sora watched a red heart slowly float away and disappear into the sky. His face held a solemn expression and he hadn't said much on his training trip to Agrabah. Despite closing the door to darkness, the heartless were still invading the worlds, meaning he had a job to do. But defeating endless hordes of heartless wasn't on the forefront of Sora's mind at the moment.

His change in attitude wasn't lost to his other comrades either.

"Alright, Enough!" Donald suddenly snapped, causing Goofy and Sora to look over at him. "You've been acting strange all week! What's going on with you!"

Sora paused for a few moments, looking down at the Kingdom Keyblade in his hand. He let it vanish after a minute before turning away from them, resting his hands behind his head. "I don't know what your talking about?" He said with obviously fake cheerfulness.

"Sora…"

Sora glanced over his shoulder to see Naminé finishing off the last heartless with a simple fire spell. She had been doing well in her magic training under Yen Sid and Donald. Her prowess for magic was very impressive, but she wasn't a slouch in melee either. Recently, she had been accompanying them to different worlds to eradicate the heartless.

She turned to face them, a concerned look on her cute face. "You've been really quiet the past week. Ever since you woke up that night…screaming. Is everything ok?"

Sora bit his lower lip, the memories of that horrid nightmare retuning. A ship filled with prisoner women of different species, his own Oath keeper Keyblade soaked in the blood of his enemies as he mowed them down with viscous intensity. The horrified faces of crew members burned into his memory as his magic spells took lives in gory fashion, the sight of a raped and beaten women on a bedside, her eyes wide with horror when he tried to approach, and the image of a brutally beaten man, begging for his life as his own Keyblade ended it.

That's when Sora's mind decided it had enough dreaming, and he awoke. Unluckily, he didn't wake up silently, and his friend had been asking about it ever since. "I don't know why you guys keep asking. I'm completely fine! See?" He said, giving them a big smile."No frowning, no sad faces, remember?"

"…"

No one look convinced by his words and it showed clearly on there faces. But they dropped the subject because they could never get him to talk about it. It was a bit disappointing because it was affecting his normally cheerful attitude.

Sora turned away from them and went back to thinking about that dream. Ever since he met Roxas, the strange dreams had started. Each night, it was like he was catching small glimpses of the boy's life. He didn't think much about it at first, so he didn't mention anything to Donald, Goofy, or Naminé…also because those dreams would get pretty…perverted sometimes. Other times, it was like watching an average, boring life with friends.

But this time, it was so much different. After seeing the sheer brutality of killing those men, the use of the Oath keeper to destroy his enemies, and the pure rage he felt, Sora couldn't help but concluded that there must be something more to these dreams. They were so real, so vivid.

Was he really seeing Roxas's life? But if he was, why? How was it possible to see into someone's life? Was it because they could both use the Keyblade? Were they connected somehow?

Something clicked in Sora's mind. He thought back as to when he first met the Keyblade wielding member of Organization 13. Despite it being the first time, they met each other, Roxas seemed really familiar with Sora. He talked as if he knew him for years and was speaking with an old friend. Even without introducing himself, Roxas knew his name.

Did that mean…

Did that mean Roxas had the same kind of connection? Was that how Roxas knew about him? Was Roxas able to see into his life as well?

Sora glanced over his shoulder again to see Naminé talking with Donald and Goofy about something. They weren't paying attention to him, so maybe it was time to test his little theory…

"Roxas…" Sora whispered, feeling a little foolish. "If you can see what I see…and Hear what I hear through your dreams…let me know…Because I think I can see your life too…And we need to talk…"

Again, Sora felt a little foolish about asking this to thin air, but if Roxas could really see his life, then it was worth trying.

* * *

"Seriously, the Hospital is going to start bitching if we keep filling the ER! Just how many people did ya Piss off?"

"Who knows…And who cares." Axel said, watching another ambulance take off with a few burned individuals. "Seriously, trying to attack in an alleyway? How cliché can you get?"

"It's cliché because it usually works on most people." Zombina said, elbowing Axel in the side. "But you aren't most people, huh? You're a cold-blooded killer."

"Ironic coming from an Undead." Axel said, rising and eyebrow at the Red-Head. "And please, would you've done anything different?"

"Not if I could get away with it. But seeing how much you're in court now days, I glad it's you and not me." Zombina grinned, slapping him in the back…hard.

"Axel, can you please stop getting into trouble? Ugh, the amount of damn Paperwork I'll have to fill out…AGAIN!" Smith growled. The coordinator walked up to them with her hands on her hips.

"Why are you getting mad at Poor ol' me? I'm the one getting attacked here. It's not my fault."

"Actually, it is." Doppel said smugly. "You play the hero, you create the villains. Those traffickers were involved with a bunch of organizations around the world, and you can bet they're pissed about losing their cargo. Frankly, I'm surprised they haven't hired full-fledged assassins yet."

"They can come at me all they want." Axel said dryly. "I've fought a true assassin, and these guys are an insult to the word. If they keep being so obvious, then we're going to need another morgue."

"You fought an assassin before?" Manako asked. The others listened intently because it was rare for Axel to share a bit his past.

"Yep! He used a Scythe and he called himself the 'Graceful Assassin'" Axel said, using air quotes. "It wasn't the smartest choice of profession for him, not with his vibrant pink hair."

"Well, that's interesting." Smith said, making a mental note of this new information.

"Axel dear, you need to be careful! If you don't watch out, someone could catch you while your guard is down." Tio said.

"You just worry about yourself Tio." Axel responded, giving her a grin. "Didn't a few already try to target you in order to get to me."

"I can take care of herself." Tio said proudly.

"Nice to know that you're worried about us." Zombina laughed. "So, you getting sick of court hearings yet?"

"It's getting a little old." Axel said, rolling his eyes dramatically. "It's just the same thing over and over again. People yell at me, saying I killed their precious brother…Father…Husband…. Then I have to act like a civil human being and describe how incredibly sorry I am…"

"If acting sorry means you give no fucks, then yes, you act sorry." Zombina snickered.

"And then I get attacked, defend myself, the lawyers get brought in, judges make their calls, rinse and repeat." Axel signed. "It was fun at first, but now I'm getting bored."

"Don't worry Axel, soon you won't have to worry about it pretty soon." Smith said as they began walking in the direction of MON headquarters.

"Really? Why's that?"

"Because changes are on the horizon." Smith said, adjusting her glasses with a grin.

"Well it's about time." Axel said as he and MON made there way back to the Cultural exchange facility. "Oh, do I have any court hearings tomorrow?"

"Not that I know of."

"Good, because tomorrow is a small cultural festival at Roxas and Xion's school. I kinda want to take some time and visit it."

"It is huh?" Smith smiled over at the fire nobody. "Feel free. Just don't draw attention to yourself. We don't need anyone trying to attack the school while you are there."

"A festival! That sounds like fun! Can we go Too!" Tio asked, a huge smile on her face.

"No, you have a job to do. You have to guard Darling while he's out with Centorea." Smith said. "We need to figure out who sent that letter."

"But I'm sick of that!? All we do is watch as he goes on a bunch of dates with everyone. They look like they're having so much fun!"

"If you're that annoyed with it, why don't you ask him to take you on a date then?" Axel suggested. "Killing two birds with one stone."

Zombina paused for a few moments, a grin spreading across her face. "That's genius! We can watch over him and have fun at the same time! Why didn't I think of that!"

"cuz' you're a few brain cells short of a full cranium?"

"Oh, screw you Axel!"

"Alright enough! Axel, go have some fun tomorrow. You deserve it after being stuck in court all day." Smith said as she turned to the rest of MON. "And the rest of you, figure out how you want to protect Kimihito. I don't care, as long as it gets done."

"Roger that!" The four members of Mon chanted at once. They took off towards the exchange facility to prepare to tail Kimihito while Axel and Smith stayed behind.

"You sure you didn't want me to tell Roxas about the threat letter?" Axel grinned teasingly.

Smith sighed, her shoulders dropped a little. "And what do you think would happen if I did that?"

"Another genocide?" Axel snickered. "You seriously think Roxas will snap and kill every little thing that's a threat? C'mon Smith…"

"We'll handle this quietly. If Roxas knew, I know he would do everything he could to protect Darling, but that's also the problem. The kid doesn't know subtlety and he needs to keep a low profile. Otherwise, someone might figure out it was actually him and his friends that killed the traffickers, not you."

"Yeah, I agree. Roxas was different from the other Nobodies, so he lacks common sense. He's the kind of kid that rushes the front lines, guns blazing if you know what I mean." Axel laughed.

"There're nothing wrong with that, unless you're trying to keep out of the spotlight. And we need things to calm down before something crazy happens again." Smith concluded, glancing over at the Nobody. "So, you want to go see Roxas and Xion at their little festival huh? You sound like the perfect doting Onii-Chan."

"Knock it off smith!" Axel said, a tiny blush of embarrassment on his cheeks.

"Don't worry, I think it's cute. The big badass Axel has a soft spot for his lil' friends. I find your denial adorable."

Axel shook his head and turned away from the coordinator. "Shot myself in the foot by giving you the Ammunition. You're never going to let this go, huh?"

Smith laughed as she caught up to him, hooking one arm through his elbow and pulling it to her bountiful chest. "Nope! It's the only way to get a reaction out of you…And it's nice to know somewhere in the abyss of emptiness that is the nobody Axel, a tiny part of you actually cares."

"Humph." Axel grunted, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

* * *

"Alright! The Cultural Festival is starting tomorrow," Ichiro said with a fist pump, turning to the other member of the club with a huge smile of anticipation. "So, how's everyone doing with their gallery photographs?"

"…"

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, which caused the president to sweat drop. "Uhm, you guys didn't take any photos yet…did you?"

"Nope."

"Nada."

"I haven't either."

"I don't know what to take pictures of."

Ichiro's head dropped dramatically. "Well, I should have guessed. With everything that's been going on, I didn't think we would get that far. But I also didn't think we wouldn't get anywhere…"

"Um…I've actually got all my pictures done."

Everyone turned to the Yeti in the room, who had a wide, smug smile on her face.

"What-you serious? Out of everyone, I expected you to not have any." Ichiro gasped.

"Well, when I was home, I had plenty of free time. So, I got it all done." Yukiko said cheerfully. "You want to see them?"

"No! Not yet!" Ichiro stopped her, waving his hands. "The intrigue of Photography is learning what is beautiful to another person, so keep it as a surprise." He said as he turned to the others in the room. "What about the rest of you? Do you have any ideas of what you want to put in your section of the gallery?"

"I have a few ideas." Pyra said, scratching her chin.

"Same with me." Xion said.

"I know what I want to do." Callie commented with a smile.

"…"

The last person in the room remained quiet because he didn't have a clue what he wanted to take pictures of.

"Roxas?"

"I haven't figured it out yet."

"Well hurry up! We need those pictures by tomorrow if we are going to make a gallery" Ichiro said as he turned to the rest of the club. "And that goes for the rest of you as well. We don't want to be dead last in the festival. It's our first one!"

"Roger that captain." Pyra said in mock salute.

Roxas continued to ponder because he didn't know what he wanted to put in his section of the gallery. What did he think was beautiful enough to take a picture of? Glancing around the room, the rest of the club was talking animatedly, though they kept their muse to themselves.

Yukiko was cheerfully laughing with the rest of them. She was still al little fidgety after what happened that night, but her recovery was simply astounding. The rest of the club was tactful enough not to ask any details about the event, which was something she appreciated. But they also showed her much love and attention, hoping she would overcome it. So far it was working brilliantly.

Smiling, the nobody was glad that everything was back to normal...Well, sort of normal. The situation at the house was still pretty tense. Now all he had to do was figure out what he wanted to take a picture of. After all, he didn't want to miss out on his first school festival.

* * *

It was a bit later in the evening when Roxas and Xion were walking home from hanging out at Polt's house. They finished doing homework quickly but decided it would be best to head home early in order to finish taking their photos for the gallery instead of chilling out. With Yukiko already done, Pyra still needed to take a few pictures in order to catch up.

Polt was a bit disappointed they were leaving so quickly, but that turned into excitement when she learned Pyra needed help getting some more photographs. She readily volunteered before dragging her niece off in a random direction.

Roxas and Xion didn't' have any photos yet, and the male nobody was still trying to figure out what he wanted to take a picture of.

"Xion, what are you putting in your gallery?" Roxas asked, wondering if she could give him some inspiration.

Xion game him a playful smile. "It's a secret"

Well, that idea was thrown out the window. It was apparent that she already knew what she wanted to take pictures of. And he was a little surprised to see the mischievous glint in her eyes. She was adapting to being around everyone much quicker than he had. She would joke around, laugh, and even had a mischievous streak every so often. She was becoming more and more of a person every day.

"What about you?"

Roxas blinked his eyes, his mind focusing back on the issue at hand. "I don't know."

"Is there anything that interests you? Anything you really like to do or see?"

"Well, not really. I mean, I haven't had much time to think about it."

"Well, then I'll give you a hint about what made me want to take pictures of my interest." Xion said with a kind smile.

Roxas paused as he turned to his fellow nobody, clearly curious.

"It was after I went on a mission with Axel. He took me to the ocean one time just for fun, and I saw something really pretty there. It was the first time I had been out of Castle Oblivion, so I was mesmerized by its beauty. It left an impact on me that I couldn't forget. Did you ever have an experience like that?"

Roxas paused as he thought back on his few days in the organization. He remembered Axel taking him around Twilight town to eradicate some heartless. He remembered the one and only mission he did for the Organization and how easy it was to accomplish. Back then, he didn't know anything at all. He was just a mindless drone that followed orders.

But after that mission, Axel took him to the supposed hot-stop atop of twilight tower. He brought a couple bars of Sea-salt ice cream and they watched…the…sunset…

The nobody blinked a few times as he remembered how gorgeous it was. The sun setting the horizon ablaze as night threatened to overtake the sky.

It reminded him of the time after he saved Yukiko, when he gazed across the ocean to witness the beauty of the rising sun. The morning rays that chased the night away, bathing the sky in twilight.

That was it…

"I think…I think I know exactly what I want to take pictures of."

"Really? What?" Xion asked eagerly.

Now it was Roxas's turn to shoot her a mischievous smile. "It's a secret."

* * *

By now, Xion and Roxas had gone their separate ways in order to finish up their photography project. Xion left a little while ago and Roxas was throwing on his organization 13 coat, getting ready to finish his own part of the project. He would have to hurry it up though because the sun was sinking fast.

As he zipped up his coat, he thought back on all the memories he had of Sora, and all the places he visited in his adventures. Nowadays, he did get dreams occasionally of the boy, but they were mostly of him training, going to different worlds, eradicating heartless, and just simple interactions with friends. It wasn't much to talk about.

Though the nobody was still curious as to why he was still dreaming of Sora, he stopped asking after a while. Seeing Sora interact with his friends was helping the nobody in his everyday life.

Because Sora visited so many worlds, it gave Roxas an idea of what he could do to make this photography project awesome.

"Roxas?"

Roxas turned around and saw Suu standing there, a curious look on her face. She blinked a couple times when she noticed he was getting dressed to go out.

"Hey Suu."

Suu beamed at him before rushing over and giving him a big ol' hug. If there was one thing that was the same about the house, it was Suu's cheerfulness. She was aware of the tense atmosphere, but it didn't stop her from brightening everyone's day with her infectious smile.

"Is Roxas going somewhere?"

"Yep. I gotta fished my project for the school festival." He said with a smile.

"Oh…Can Suu come?" Suu asked, her large emerald eyes glowing with hope and excitement.

Roxas paused for a few moments as he thought about it. "Well, I'm using the corridor of darkness…"

"But Suu can wear Roxas's coat too, so can Suu come? Please?" She asked quickly, giving him the biggest puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen.

Roxas laughed a little to mask his own guilt. Suu had been stuck at the house more frequently because Roxas would hang at Polt's. So, she didn't get to spend as much time with him, Xion, Yukiko, or Pyra. Before the whole situation happened, they would all hang out together, but that wasn't the case anymore and he felt a little bad about it.

Usually when he got home, she would tell him how her day was, but there was an underlying sadness to her demeaner because she didn't get to hang with them. He really needed to fix things, and soon.

Maybe this would be good for her. It would give them a chance to hang out and he would like the company.

"Sure."

Suu's smile lit up the entire room as she reached one feeler into his collar. Her body dissolved into a stream of slime and flowed into his coat like a river of water. It was a strange feeling having his upper torso covered by her body, almost like wearing a thin layer of clothing under this coat.

"Where are we going?" Suu asked, poking her head out from the back of Roxas's collar.

"We are going to take a few pictures of the sunset." Roxas said, pulling out one of Ichiro's camera's that he lent him.

"Oh! Suu like's sunsets."

"Yeah, so do I. And I think you are really going to enjoy these." He said as he opened the corridor of darkness and walked through.

A black portal opened up and Roxas walked out. Immediately, his vision was filled with that of a dense forest. Initially, he wasn't sure this was going to work because it was from a memory of Sora. But realizing that he made it to Hollow Bastion with Sora's memories, this wasn't to far of a stretch. He took a few paces forward, listening to the creaking wood of an old tree-house under his feet.

A blue head peaked its way out of his coat, taking in the view as well. Her emerald eyes widened as she squealed in delight at seeing such a beautiful dense forest. She flowed out of his coat, prancing up to the side of the balcony and gazed out at the tops of the trees.

"Roxas! Roxas! This is…I've seen this before in your…dream once." She exclaimed, turning to him in excited fashion. "This was…um...

"That's right Suu." Roxas said as he took out the camera. Coincidentally, this world's day was about to end just like on the other one. The sun was setting gently over the forest, casting a fiery glow across the treetops. The endless greenery provided a breathtaking view, perfect for a photograph.

"Welcome to the deep jungle." He said as he adjusted the camera lens.

"Wow…It's real…" Suu whispered, turning around and drinking in the gorgeous view. "It's so pretty."

"Yeah, and this is only our first stop. We have to hurry because the sun should be setting in all the worlds we are going to visit."

"We're going to visit more?" Suu exclaimed, whipping around and giving him a look that was burning with excitement.

"Yeah."

"Oh oh! What about Wonderland! Or Olympus! Or even Traverse town." She asked in rapid succession.

Roxas chuckled a bit. "Well, I don't think we are going to have time to visit all the worlds, but we need at least 10 pictures."

Finally, Roxas got into the perfect position and took a snap of the sunset. He pulled the camera away from his face before looking down at it, smiling at the result. The high-quality camera caught the perfect glare of the sun over the vast forest with just a hint of the wooden structure around the edges.

"I really think Ichiro will be impressed."

Suu bounced up behind him and took a look. "Not just Ichiro" Suu said happily. "I think everyone will love these pictures."

"Yeah, you're right." He said, placing the lens cap back onto the camera. "Sorry we can't spend to much time here. Are you ready to go?"

Suu turned around and took one more look at the sunset before turning back to Roxas. She was literally brimming with happiness as she launched herself at him, tackling him to the ground.

"This is so cool Roxas!" she said, rubbing her face against his chest. "Suu is so happy!" Her top feeler hooked onto the inside of his collar again before she flowed back into his coat.

Roxas chuckled as he stood up and opened the Corridor again.

* * *

Roxas knew using the corridor would be a risky endeavor. He knew the Organization would be keeping an eye out for him everywhere they could. And if they caught even a whiff of his location, they would chaise him to the ends of the universe.

But then again, the odds of running into them was very small, especially since he only spent a few moments at each world. He'd kept a low profile, not traveling anywhere since his adventure at Castle Oblivion, so he guessed it would be alright.

Still, it was interesting to see so many places that Sora frequently visited on his adventures. Every place his traveled to, he felt like he was returning to a familiar area. It was a strange feeling because he never set foot on these worlds before.

He didn't want to risk too much by visiting every single world in Sora's memory though. Just a few would be enough for his photography project. The other five locations Roxas and Suu visited were Olympus, Traverse town, Neverland, Hollow bastion, and Agrabah. He took one picture in Neverland, and another near the big ben tower. Hollow bastion was also large enough to take two photographs of the sunset in different areas. Overall, he had eight pictures of the sunset from different worlds.

Suu and Roxas made sure not to stay at any world for too long because they didn't want to draw attention to themselves. However, they did have to fight off a bunch of heartless that randomly appeared. It was inevitable because he was a wielder of the Keyblade. Luckily, they weren't too difficult to defeat, so they fought them off, took a picture, then left.

He half expected to see Leon and Yuffie again, but he didn't end up seeing them in Hollow bastion again. In fact, he didn't run into any of the people from Sora's memories. It was a relief, but also a disappointment because it would have been interesting to see them.

Suu was having the time of her life. With every location, she would nearly burst with excitement. Roxas understood because most of Suu's life involved staying at the house or occasionally going out with them. She didn't have much to do in the average day, so being able to get out and see different world was something she greatly deserved…and enjoyed.

And she let him know almost every two seconds how happy she was. He could also feel it when she locked her feeler around his head. It made him happy to see her so joyful.

Finally, Roxas opened the corridor of darkness one of the last places he wanted to visit. The place that started all of Sora's adventures, and the one place he was secretly looking forward to the most.

Destiny Island.

Getting a picture on this beautiful world would be another for the Gallery, but he wanted to see the place where Sora grew up.

Roxas and Suu exited the corridor and set foot on the sandy beaches of Destiny Island. The waves gently lapped against the shore in rhythmic beauty and the sun was setting on the ocean, casting a gorgious glow across the water. The sun was dipping low, lighting up the sky in a red hue. The reflection was just about to disappear, so it wouldn't cast an overwhelming glare on the camera. It was simply perfect.

Suu was extremely excited to see it because she slipped out of his coat and danced along the sands. Since it was much later in the evening, he was sure no one would be around to see her. Even on other worlds, Suu was a strange sight to behold.

"Roxas! This has been the best day Suu ever had!" Suu said as she danced around the beach, grabbing handfuls of sand and throwing it into the sky. Her control over her own body had increased so much that the tiny particles bounced off her like jelly. "Suu has never been so happy!"

Roxas couldn't help but smile as he watched Suu skip along the beach, picking up seashells and other goodies along the shore. Finding a good spot, Roxas popped off the camera lens cap and raised it to his eyes, adjusting the lens before snapping a perfect picture of the view. He pulled the camera away from his face and nodded in satisfaction.

"Roxas, can we stay just a little longer? Please!?" Suu asked, a pleading look in her eyes.

His instincts were telling him no, but he just couldn't do it…not with the puppy eyes Suu was giving him again. He felt as if his soul would rend if he denied her.

"Sure…but just for a little while."

"YAY!" Suu exclaimed as she crushed him into a short hug before skipping off along the seashore.

Again, it was adorable to see her so excited about something as simple as a beach. He really needed to take her to more places. Heck, she was probably even smart enough to start school with them…

The only problem was that there was no way to pay for her. She wasn't covered under the exchange bill, so the government wouldn't pay for her education. And Kimihito was struggling enough as it was with a huge responsibility of taking care of them all. Technically, he wasn't even supposed to take care of Suu, but he still did.

Roxas paused as he thought about his host. It still pained his heart that their relationship wasn't on the best of terms right now. Kimihito was still a little jumpy and they barely said more than a few sentences to each other. It had been almost two weeks now and things had not changed. Frankly, it was a little depressing.

Roxas knew he would need to mend bridges really soon. This just couldn't continue, not before real resentment started.

"KYAA!"

"Huh?" Roxas heard a startled gasp and ran in it's direction. It was the same way Suu had run off to, so he was worried someone might have seen her.

When he approached, he noticed that Suu had tackled an individual, smothering them with affection. Getting closer, Roxas easily recognized a familiar person, laying on there back and holding a camera in the air to prevent the sand from damaging it.

"…Xion?" Roxas asked as he approached.

"Roxas? Suu?" Xion asked back, her eyes wide with disbelief, struggling to keep the camera off the sand while Suu rubbed her face against her. "W-What are you two doing here?"

Roxas stared at her for a few seconds before gesturing to the beautiful sunset. "This was what I wanted for my pictures…" He said, glancing down at the girl. Suu had allowed Xion to sit up but was still had her arms wrapped around her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh…" Xion looked a little embarrassed but gestured to the ocean surf. Roxas looked over to see a gorgeous pink seashell being caressed by the gentle waves.

"Seashells…Is that for your gallery?"

Xion looked over at the seashell before looking back up at Roxas. She nodded her head, a little disappointed. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Yeah, so did I." Roxas laughed. "Kinda funny we both chose this place to take a picture though."

"That is really funny." She said, joining in on the laughter. "For some reason, this place was in my thoughts, so I decided to come here because the seashells were really pretty."

"Have you been here before?" Roxas asked.

Xion shook her head. "I haven't, but it seems familiar to me for some reason. So much so that I was able to open a corridor to it. It's strange huh?"

"Yeah, that is a little…strange…" Roxas trailed off. He remembered what Xemnas said about Xion's creation and how she would absorb his abilities. Did that also mean she shared his dreams as well? Or even his connection to Sora?

Before Xion could respond, she glanced over Roxas's shoulder, her eyes widening a little. "Someone's coming!"

Roxas turned around to see a single figure in the distance, looking out at the sunset as she strolled across the sand. Quickly, Roxas turned back to Suu and Xion. "Suu, you need to hide, quickly!"

"Hm?" She hummed in confusion as she glanced over at the figure walking along the beach. Luckily, the person wasn't looking at them yet, just soulfully stared across the water.

"Hurry!"

Suu released Xion before standing next to Roxas. Right before his eyes, her entire for began to change shape and color. Her body stretched and twisted as she morphed into someone extremely familiar.

Kimihito.

Even her head feeler melted into the nearly identical look of their host.

Roxas was gob smacked. He had no idea Suu was able to do this, but it was not the time to ask her about it because the person walking along the beach finally noticed them. After just a tiny glace, Roxas knew exactly who this was.

The red hair, deep blue eyes, purple skirt, and a white shirt was a dead giveaway. It was still extremely surreal to see her in person though because he had only seen her in dreams.

Kairi

"H-Hi." Roxas stuttered as the girl came close enough to talk.

"Hello" Kairi said with a kind smile as she approached them. She raised an eyebrow when she saw both of there camera's. "Nice evening for a picture."

"It is…" Xion responded quietly as she stood from the sand.

An awkward since fell between the three of them. Kairi gave a small frown and cocked her head. "I'm sorry, but do I know you two from somewhere?"

"I don't think so." Roxas said, shaking his head.

"For some reason, you two seem really…familiar. Are you sure?"

"Positive." Roxas said with a smile. "We just came up this way to take a couple pictures from the island."

"Well it is a really nice place for a picture." Kairi agreed, glancing over the ocean. "Is it for a hobby?"

"School project." Xion laughed. "Our president was very insistent we all get 10 pictures before tomorrow."

"Awe…Wait, what school do you go to? I haven't heard of any nearby that's having a festival."

Busted…

"We're from…pretty far away…" Roxas said, glancing away from the girl. It was so weird talking to her. This was Kairi, the girl who Sora searched the worlds for. The same one who Sora literally gave his heart for, and she was standing right there.

Gave his heart for…

Roxas blinked as a thought smacked him clean in the face. He remembered his lesson on Nobodies and how they were born. He remembered A dream where Sora turned into a heartless after he sacrificed himself to save Kairi.

Surly Sora's heart was strong enough that he would create a nobody, right? And if he did…

"Um…are you ok?" Kairi asked.

Roxas blinked his eyes a couple times, forcing himself out of that train of thought. He smiled at the girl in front of them. "Yeah, just thinking about something."

"Well, since your taking pictures and all, would you like me to take a picture of you three?" She asked, gesturing to Suu and Xion.

"…Actually, that would be really nice." Xion said happily, handing over the camera to Kairi. She grabbed Suu/Kimihito's hand and pulled him over, standing her between Roxas and Herself.

"You three look great!" Kairi said, brining the camera to her face. "Three…Two…one… Cheese!"

The camera flashed once and Kairi lowered it from her face, inspecting it. "Very nice."

"Thank you!" Xion skipped over and took the camera from her.

"It's not a problem…" She said, raising her eyebrow at them again. "Are you sure we don't know each other? I really feel like I know you two…"

"I don't think we've ever met." Roxas said, though he was very curious as to why Kairi felt that way. They never met each other, but they felt like they knew one another.

Why was that?

"Well, anyway. I should get back home before night falls. I just like taking a walk along the ocean before the day ends." Kairi said somberly.

"Yeah, it is really pretty around this time." Xion said.

"It is, but that's not why I do it…" Kairi said, gazing out at the ocean. "I'm waiting for someone…"

"…You are? Are they lost?" Roxas asked.

"In a way…" Kairi said, before she realized she was talking with complete strangers. "Sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you that. I just feel…like you're a couple old friends of mine."

"Don't worry about it." Roxas said with a chuckle. "I hope you find what you're looking for Kairi."

"Yeah, me too." Kairi said as she started to walk away. "It was nice meeting you both."

As Kairi walked away from the three individuals, her mind kept going back to her lost friend, Sora. While talking with those two in the black coats, it almost felt like she was talking with him again.

She hopped into her boat and grabbed the ore before something occurred to her. She glanced back in the direction of the three strangers, but was too far around the small island to see them.

"Did I…Did I ever mention my name? How did he…know?"

* * *

"Well, that was interesting." Roxas said as Kairi finally disappeared in the distance. "Didn't think anyone would be out and about at this time."

"Yeah. It was nice of her to take a picture of us." She said as she watched Suu transform from Kimihito to her usual self. "Say Suu, why don't we take a picture of you and Roxas…while you're not in disguise."

Suu's eyes lit up again. "Really!"

"Yeah, just stand by the water."

Suu didn't waist any time objecting as she raced over to Roxas and wrapped her arm around his neck, getting nice and close. She gave a wide smile at the camera and threw out a peace sign. "Suu saw this on TV once!"

Xion laughed as she brought the camera to her face. "Alright you two, smile nice and big now."

Roxas gave his usual smile as he hooked and arm around Suu's waist, resting it on her hip. The camera flashed and Xion gave a nod of approval.

"Looks good!"

"Nice." Roxas said, untangling himself from Suu. "Now you two need a picture."

"W-Me?" Xion asked.

"Yeah, give me the camera." Roxas said, taking the camera from Xion and pushing her over to the excited Slime. Instantly, Suu curled her feelers around Xion and gave a similar pose. Xion had a small smile on her face, but it would suffice. Roxas snapped a picture of the two of them.

"Now it's your turn with Xion!" Suu said, bouncing up to Roxas and snatching the camera away from her.

"Careful Suu!"

"Suu is careful!" Suu said, shoving Roxas towards Xion. He nearly stumbled in the sand but regained his footing. "Let Suu take a picture!"

Xion glanced at Roxas a bit hesitatingly before sliding up to him. Truthfully, they didn't have much physical contact between each other. Both left that to Pyra and Yukiko. But now that it was the two of them, it was difficult to know what was ok.

"Xion, put your arm around Roxas, like I did!" Suu said impatiently, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She really wanted to take a picture.

A small blush formed on Xion's face as she slowly reached over and hooked her arm around his shoulder. He in turn trailed his arm around her back and rested it on her hip. They were way too stiff. It took a few moments before Xion and Roxas relaxed a little more and things began to look more natural.

"Perfect, now smile!" She said, snapping the picture.

The camera went off and the picture was done, but Xion didn't release her fellow nobody quite yet. Instead, she glanced at him and shakily wrapped both arms around his chest in a stiff and awkward manner. By the look on her face, she had no idea what she was doing, but she was trying.

"Thanks, Roxas…"

"For what?" Roxas asked, clearly off guard by the sudden gesture.

"If not for you, Axel and I would still be at castle Oblivion…or dead. Axel might have been killed and I would be used to collect hearts for Organization 13. Now, I have a life where I'm happy to get up every day. I love being around everyone, making friends, and experiencing…existence."

"…"

Again, Roxas didn't know what to say to that. He was happy Xion was around too. He was glad she was happy, making friends, and living life here with him. Truthfully, he couldn't see how he would want to live differently.

"You're welcome." He said, resting a hand on her hip and trying to pull her into an awkward side-hug. He was still not very good at initiating physical contact either.

Luckily, Xion understood the gesture and rested her head against his shoulder for a second before letting go. "We should head back. We've got a long day tomorrow."

"Suu wants a hug too!" Suu exclaimed, launching herself at the two of them.

"Suu! Suu wait! The Camera!"

* * *

It was the next day and Roxas was getting ready for school. The festival was happening later on and that meant he had to get his photos developed and ready to go. Grabbing the camera, he went out of his bedroom and walked down to the dining room.

As expected, the place was empty. Kimihito was apparently out with Centorea today, leaving behind everyone else. Rachnera left earlier so she could pester Centorea on her date with Kimihito. Papi was gone too, having snuck out like she usually did, and Roxas didn't give a shit as to what Mero was up to.

He did see Miia sitting at the table when he walked into the dining room, flipping through the iPad. She looked completely and utterly board based on the way her tail was waving back and forth.

"Morning Miia." Roxas said.

Miia snapped out of her stupor, quickly glancing up at her housemate.

"Oh! Good morning Roxas!" She said with an infectious smile, which quickly fell from her face when she saw he was getting ready for school. "Isn't today the weekend?"

"It is."

"Then why are you going to school?" She asked quizzically.

"School festival…" Roxas said, glancing at the Lamia.

"Oh, so you're going to be gone the rest of the day then?" She asked, her tone taking a depressing turn. It seemed she was extremely board. Roxas was glad that she was at least talking to him. The snake-girl wasn't as wary around him as Centorea and Mero. In fact, she seemed to forget about while whole episode after Yukiko's kidnapping…aside from what Mero said. She still treated him like an elder sister, always asking how his day was, and trying to include him in conversation.

"Yeah…" Roxas said before something occurred to him. The festival would last a couple days, so he was planning on asking Kimihito if he wanted to attend sometime. It was a first step in his attempt to repair their fractured relationship.

But since his host was gone, there was nothing stopping him from bringing someone else.

"…Did you want to come with me?"

Instantly, Miia's eyes turned to him. They were wide with hope, praying that some divine entity would deliver her from the bottomless pit of boredom.

"Really! I can come? I've never been to a school before."

"It's open to the public. And students are encouraged to bring family…but if you don't want too..."

"I want to! I want to!" Miia squealed, rushing over to Roxas and wrapping him up in a full cocoon hug. "This is great! I thought I was going to die of boredom! Just give me a few seconds to change, M'Kay?"

"Yeah…" Roxas chuckled as the excited Lamia dashed up to her room in order to change into some casual clothing.

Now that he was alone in the kitchen, Roxas took a moment to look around. It looked as if Kimihito rushed out that morning quickly with Centorea because the Kitchen was a mess. There were dirty dishes in the sink, food left out on the counters, and crumbs on the floor. Kimihito was usually good about keeping a clean house, nothing short of a miracle with so many tenants. But he was only human, and sometimes, he needed help.

Glancing over where Miia retreated to her room, Roxas shook his head and rolled up his sleeve. Knowing that the Lamia would take a while to change, the nobody decided to be a little productive.

* * *

Miia was as cheerful as could be while she walked with Roxas to the school. She was wearing a red shirt and a tan overcoat with the sleeves rolled up, along with a jean skirt and a black belt. Overall, she looked quite adorable, especially with how happy she looked.

"I'm so excited Roxas! I always wanted to see your school! I've never been to a school before, but always wanted to!" She gushed, her arms wrapped around his elbow in a very sisterly way.

Roxas just smiled as he led the excited Lamia down the street towards the train. He wished Yukiko and Pyra were there with him. But they arrived earlier and took Xion and Suu for some girl time before the school festival started. Xion agreed to escort the three Liminal to the school after they were done. Suu really wanted to see the school and festival as well.

Despite them no being there, it was kind of nice spending time with one of his housemates. He didn't get to much opportunity to get to know them as much as he would have liked. He was just so busy all the time. And even though they lived in the same house, the most interaction they had was over dinner. He never really spent any quality time with any of them besides Rachnera. And even then, he only spent time with her because she was editing his book.

"What do you usually do when Kimihito goes out?" Roxas asked, interrupting her excited monologue.

"Me? Well, not much actually." Miia said, a bit depressed. "Since I don't have a job, I can't really go out much on my own, so I usually stay home and watch TV, or browse the internet."

Roxas blinked a few times, looking over at Miia with a bit of pity in his eyes. That sounded extremely boring. He could probably watch TV for about 30 minutes before getting bored himself. Hanging out with his friends or training with Kii was much more fun and interesting. TV felt like he was wasting his existence.

"Then we should go out more…" Roxas said, smiling up at the Lamia.

"We should!" Miia gushed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders happily. "We don't spend nearly enough time together, and we're housemates! You're like the little bro I could never have."

"Never?"

"Well yeah, Lamia is an all-female race. The only way we can survive is with human…males." She trailed off, her tone switching from happy to worried in a matter of seconds.

"You ok?"

"Oh…yeah, I'm fine!" Miia said, her cheerful attitude returning. "Don't worry about it Roxas, I'm just glad I get to hang out with you and everyone. It feels like I haven't seen them in a while."

Roxas felt a little guilty about that because it was mostly his fault. He would need to change that sooner than later, either by leaving, or by fixing his relationships.

They continued to walk down the street in idle chatter until someone came up to them, riding a bike. He was a skinny looking guy with a cop badge on his breast pocket.

"Um, excuse me…but do you have your…Wait, it's you!"

Roxas and Miia were a bit guarded when a police officer rode up to them and Roxas was about to pull out his badge in customary fashion, but he recognized the officer from the incident. The same one that took away Mako and Piper. His arm was no longer in a sling, but there was still a bit of color on his face from past bruises.

Miia looked at the officer in confusion, glancing between him and Roxas a couple times.

"Officer…bike cop" Roxas nodded with a small smile.

The cop nearly fell off said bike as he rubbed the back of his head in a very Kimihito-ish manner. "Yeah, I get that a lot. I don't think anyone remembers my actual name."

Roxas was about to pull out his host badge when the bike cop stopped him with a smile.

"I don't need to see your identification." He laughed. "You attend the school that mixes human and Liminal kind, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

The bike cop nodded. "Mako and Piper filled me in." he said as she glanced around to see if anyone was listening. He cupped his hand to his mouth and whispered. "They are really grateful for what you did."

"They… Good to know. How are they doing?" Roxas asked, trying to quickly change the subject. Either Mako or Piper had a big mouth. Why did they have to tell their host the truth about what happened that night? Miia didn't know the truth of the incident and he wanted to keep it that way for now.

The officer gave a long sigh, taking off his cap and scratching the top of his head. "They're fine, but they've been giving me a hard time."

"They are?"

Miia was even more confused as she glanced back at the officer quizzically. "Um, how do you two know each other?"

Roxas looked over at the confused Lamia. "Oh, we met…a while ago at the…bay." He finished vaguely.

"Oh…OH!" Miia responded, glancing back at the officer, her eyes a bit wider.

"Yeah, it was a messy situation back then." The officer gave a fake chuckle, "Mako and Piper are doing much better. They're strong girls, so they recovered quickly enough."

Miia might've not been the smartest Oreo in the sleeve, but she was able to read between the lines. Her eyes widened a little in horror. "They were also…"

"They were." The bike cop said somberly. "But they're fine now. Heck, they've been giving me a hard time about doing my job as an officer. They really don't like that I keep checking to see if people have their host papers or not."

As if to emphasize his point, some of the passing bystanders were giving the bike cop a dirty look. Somewhere even whispering under there breath to leave Miia and Roxas alone.

To Miia, it was a refreshing change to see so many people more accepting, but on the other hand, she felt a little bad for the bike cop. It was easy to tell he was a good guy, being a host that treated his tenants well and all.

"It's understandable officer." Miia said. "After what happened, everyone wants to blame the authorities for letting it get out of control."

Giving another sigh, the officer smiled at the Liminal girl. "I know, but it's still my job and until the law is change, then I have to keep doing it."

"I understand officer, and I don't blame you." Miia said kindly.

"It's apricated."

"Officer…" Roxas said, suddenly having an idea. "When does your shift end today?"

"Hm? Oh, my morning shift is almost done actually. I was about to head on home." He said, gesturing to the bike.

"Well, my school is having a festival today and my club is doing a photo gallery. Do you think Piper and Mako would like to come?"

The officer stared at the young nobody for a while before his eyes lit up. "That actually might be a great idea!" The officer said happily. "They've been itching to get out of the house for a while. Is Yukiko part of your club?"

"She is," Roxas confirmed. "And I think she will be happy to see Mako and Piper again, especially under better…circumstances."

"I agree!" The officer said, flipping one leg over his bike. "In fact, I think I should bring everyone. They might enjoy the interaction with some of the students."

"Everyone?" Miia asked.

"Oh, I'm actually a host for six different Liminal." The officer chuckled. "Mrs. Smith really didn't have anyone else that she could convince to watch them."

"Geeze, you sound like Darling." Miia said, her eyes wide.

The officer didn't reply, just tipped his hat and rode off down the street.

"That was really nice of you Roxas!" Miia gushed, hugging him from behind.

"I though Yukiko might like to see them again." Roxas responded as they both began to walk down the street again with Miia hanging off his back.

"Awe! That's so cute! Thinking about your friends like that!" Miia said as she released him and began to slither down the street at his side. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

They were quiet for a few moments before Miia started shooting him small glances, as if she wanted to ask him something. During the entire exchange with the Bike cop, she was reminded of what happened that night to cause the rift in Kimihito's house. "Um…Roxas…"

"Hm?"

Miia twiddled her fingers slightly, looking a little nervous. "That day, when Yukiko was…" She stopped, waiting for Roxas to give an indication that he understood her. By the slight stiffening of his posture, he did. "When you came home, what was that?"

"What was…What?"

"That light!" She exclaimed. "I've never seen you do that before."

Roxas gave a sigh. He knew eventually one of his housemates would ask about it. The fact that no one did yet was honestly surprising. But truthfully, it also made him happy that Miia finally asked. It meant she wasn't afraid to ask, and therefor not afraid of him. He really didn't like it when people were scared of him.

"Truthfully? I don't know." Roxas said, continuing to walk down the street. "It just suddenly happened when I heard Yukiko was kidnapped. I was just…angry."

"Yeah…You were also angry with Mero when it happened again. If I didn't know you better, I thought you would have attacked her." She laughed good-naturedly.

"Yeah…" Roxas said slowly. Good thing she didn't know how much he wanted to back then.

"But that's still kinda cool. What does it do?"

"I…I'm not sure yet…" Roxas said, glancing around to see that no one was really paying attention to them. He raised his hand and allowed a tiny bit of light energy to envelop it. Miia stared at it in wonder for the few seconds he allowed it to manifest. "I haven't practiced much with it yet."

"It's so beautiful!" She squealed. "When you find out what it can do, can you show me? Pretty please!"

Roxas laughed and shoved her shoulder playfully. "Yeah sure, sis."

"Oh my God, you're so cute I could strangle you!" Miia said, her tail twitching with agreement.

"Please don't. You don't need to be deported because you killed me."

Miia threw an arm around his shoulder as they joyfully continued there way down the street. She was so incredibly happy that Roxas couldn't help but feel happy as well.

It also made him feel a little bad because that happiness would be gone when they got back to the house. He really needed to fix things so the joyful atmosphere would return to the household. It was either that, or he should leave. But honestly, he really didn't want to. Not when he had people like Miia living there with him.

* * *

It didn't take long before Miia and Roxas made it to the school. Instantly, Miia's eyes lit up like a pair of sparking diamonds. She started looking around at the large mixture of Liminal and human kids entering the School and setting up for the festival. The school grounds had been converted into numerous booths from every club. From small food shacks to mini-games, multiple clubs were promoting their activities and displays. It was quite an exciting atmosphere to say the least.

"This is so Awesome!" Miia gushed, dragging Roxas all over the place to look at all the booths. "Where's your club?"

"It's this way, follow me." Roxas laughed, pulling Miia into the school building. They weaved through the hallways, watching each of the club rooms set up their specific exhibit. Finally, they reached the Photography club room and Roxas reached forward and pulled open the door.

"…"

"…"

"…Please don't slap me again." Roxas said dryly.

Luckily this time, Callie was fully dressed in her school uniform, but she was straddling Ichiro's lap as he sat in a chair. Right when they opened the door, it seemed they were caught in a quick make out session. The moment the door opened, there faces pulled away from each other and Callie was off Ichiro with lightning speed. Both there faces held heavy blushes, as if they had been caught doing the dirty.

Miia's open mouth formed into a sly grin, cackling internally about what she just witnessed. "Wow…This school is awesome!"

Ichiro and Callie Recovered enough to turn a confused eye to the Lamia as she and Roxas entered the room.

"Um…Hello…" Ichiro said, clearing his throat and finally calming down. "Roxas, who is this?"

"This is Miia. She's a housemate of mine." Roxas said, gesturing to the Lamia, who gave them a small wave. "She wanted to check out the festival today."

"Oh…" Ichiro said, turning to Miia with a polite bow. "It's nice to meet you Miia. I'm Ichiro, the photography club president."

"It's nice to meet you!" Miia said cheerfully, happy that another human was being nice to her.

"My name is Callie." Callie said, extending a hand to the Lamia. "You live with Roxas and Xion?"

"I sure do!"

"That's cool." Ichiro said, turning to Roxas. "Where's Pyra, Yukiko, and Xion by the way. We need to get those pictures set up in the next hour."

"They should be here soon." Roxas said, opening his book case and pulling out his developed pictures. "Where's my spot?"

"Oh, over here." Ichiro gestured to an empty wall.

Miia started making cheerful conversation with Callie as Roxas started putting up his pictures. Needless to say, Ichiro was more than impressed.

"Roxas…These are amazing!" Ichiro gasped as he looked at all the different locations of each picture of the sunset.

"Oh, thanks." Roxas said, hanging a picture of the sunset over Twilight town. That was his last destination before retuning home. He was half tempted to invite Xion, but he didn't want to risk it because Twilight town would probably be watched closely by Organization 13. Luckily, he didn't have any trouble, but he didn't stay there long at all.

"How the hell did you get that picture?" Ichiro gasped, looking at the photograph of the sun gently settling over the large city.

"…Secret." Roxas smiled, getting a pouting look from Ichiro. The human looked at the next photo and his mouth dropped open.

"Is…Is that a castle?!"

"…Maybe." Roxas said, internally laughing at Ichiro's reaction to Hollow Bastion with a sunset behind it.

"Roxas! C'mon! you have to tell me."

"Photographers secret I'm afraid. I'm sure you understand." Roxas smiled, absently noticing the door to the clubroom opening. A few bodies waked in before closing the door behind them.

"Miia!? What are you doing here?"

"Yukiko! Pyra! It's been way to long since you came over!" Miia exclaimed as she rushed over to them and wrapped them up in a hug. Yukiko was more than happy to reciprocate, but Pyra struggled in her constricting grip.

"Get off me you overgrown snake!"

"I love you too Pyra!"

Roxas glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the lovable scene. He really needed to fix things at the house so these times could return.

"W-What is that!?" Ichiro exclaimed, pointing to the gelatinous girl wearing a willow raincoat.

"Relax, that's just Suu." Roxas said, resting a hand on the human's shoulder. "She's harmless."

"That's a slime! They're so rare!" Callie said, taking a caseous step toward the Slime.

Suu didn't have any hesitation as she approached Callie. "Hi! Suu is named Suu!" She said, extending a hand to the Holstaurus.

Callie blinked a couple times, completely perplexed by how civil the slime was. Still, she shook Suu's hand. "Hi Suu, my name is Callie."

"Callie?" Suu asked, her head tilting cutely. "Suu is happy to meet Callie!"

"Wow." Ichiro said with a small whistle. "I thought Slimes were supposed to be…unintelligent."

"Usually they are, but Suu is learning quickly. I just wish we could get her into school." Roxas said.

"That would be interesting, but I'm guessing no one would fund her."

"Yeah, that's the main issue."

Suu turned her attention to Roxas and Ichiro, instantly zooming in on another unknown person. She approached quickly and extended her hand to Ichiro. "Hi! Suu is names Suu." Repeated herself in the exact same fashion.

Ichiro blinked owlishly, glancing over at Roxas.

"…She still has a lot to learn. I'm guessing this is the only way she knows how to greet people."

"Hello Suu, I'm Ichiro."

"Suu is happy to meet Ichiro." Suu said with a huge smile, shaking his hand rapidly.

"yeah…she has a lot to learn still." Roxas laughed, turning back to his gallery wall and putting up the remainder of his pictures. Pretty soon, everyone was done introducing each other and they were working on setting up their own little gallery. Eventually, Yukiko and Pyra walked up behind Roxas to check out his photographs.

"Holy shit Roxas!"

The nobody turned around to see the awestruck Yeti and Hellhound. "You like them?"

"Roxas, these are beautiful!" Yukiko gushed. "Where did you take them?"

"…"

Roxas just smiled and hung the rest of the pictures. Truthfully, he wanted to tell her and Pyra how he had gotten the pictures, and someday he would, but not yet.

"He's being stingy with his secrets!" Ichiro complained with comedic bitterness. He was in the middle of hanging his last photo as well.

"Oh, is that so?" Pyra said, turning to the defiant nobody. "I'm pretty good at getting people to confess."

"Yeah, not this time." Roxas said, glancing over at Xion's gallery. Her pictures were ones of many exotic seashells. Looking at the background, he noticed they had the same idea of going to many different worlds to take pictures. Some of the seashells probably didn't even exist on this world.

Good one Xion. Very discrete.

"Why don't you go bug Xion, or at least finish putting up your own pictures."

"Yesh, so secretive." Yukiko pouted, moving to her own wall to put up her photos. They were all of snowy capped mountains and huge winter skiing hills. A couple were of snow covered trees and glacier caps. A couple were that of a few Yeti folks as they stood in front of a huge resort building. The pictures were very beautiful as well.

Moving onto the pictures Pyra had taken, Roxas had to roll his eyes.

"Seriously, did Polt put you up to this?" the nobody asked, walking up behind the hellhound.

"Yep! She said she wanted to spread the world of a Liminal owned sports club nearby. And maybe the student population would be interested in signing up."

"Clever, using your niece's festival project to advertise. Very smart." Ichiro deadpanned. All of Pyra's pictures were of different aspects of the gym with the last one displaying the front of Sports club Kobold.

"Seriously Pyra?" Ichiro exclaimed.

"Hey, you said it could be anything."

"Yeah…but directly advertising…ah, whatever. At lest they look good." Ichiro deflated like a balloon as he moved over to Yukiko and gave her a few comments.

Looking down the row, he saw that Callie had set up pictures of farmland, barn animals, and large, hulking Minotaur's. One of them was a picture of a huge Minotaur Liminal with horns growing out of her head. She wore a pair of blue overalls and had a large axe over her shoulder. A single piece of straw dangled from her mouth and he had the largest chest Roxas had ever seen.

"A friend of yours?" Roxas asked.

"No, that's actually my cousin." Callie said. "She's located on a farm nearby."

"A farm? Near here?"

"Yeah!" Callie said, turning to him with a smile. "I was originally supposed to be joining her, but I wanted to go to school instead."

"Oh, I see." He said, looking over at the farmland pictures before moving onto Ichiro's set of pictures. The nobody gave them a flat look before turning to the Smug Ichiro.

"And how did you get all these pictures of…us?"

"Photographers secret I'm afraid." Ichiro said with a grin.

Just as suspected, every one of Ichiro's pictures were of the club. Either doing club activities, sitting around eating lunch, or just hanging out doing homework. Each one was endearing in their own right. Glancing over at the human, Roxas could only admire his talent for photography.

"You'll have to give me a copy when you have time."

"Only if you give me a copy of yours too. Those are simply incredible."

"Deal.

* * *

It was an hour into the festival and the gallery was a hit so far. People were coming in from all over to see the exotic photos from the different members of the club. Most were fascinated by the different locations captured by the members. Surprisingly, Yukiko's, Pyra's, and Callie's were the most popular because they display different area's and cultures of Liminal kind.

Many perverts came in a few times to slobber over themselves at Callie's picture of her cousin. But most were there for conversation about different Liminal species. Needless to say, the entire school was Jam packed with curious individuals ready to learn about Liminal kind.

Since she was on the school grounds, Miia decided to explore the school a little. It was nice that she had the freedom to move around and check out the booths. She even got recruited by a small dancing club to show off her serpent-like moves in belly-dance fashion. Everyone welcomed her happily and her performance was a huge hit.

Each member of the photography club was at their stations, presenting their photographs to anyone who wandered into their gallery. It was surprisingly popular, mostly because the newspaper club posted their article about the incident that day to draw in customers and it was a hot topic at the festival. Most of the people who wondered in just wanted to see the trio who was involved with the whole thing. Luckily, they had enough tact not to ask questions about it.

Another hour later, the door opened again and a few interesting characters walked into the room.

"How ya doing Yukiko!"

The Yeti froze in place for a few moments before she whipped around like a ballerina. Her smile grew ten-fold as she focused on the two people, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Mako! Piper!" She screeched as she shoved through the crowd and launched herself at the two Liminal.

"Ar! How ye be doing Maty! Try not to tip the chair here or I be falling overboard." Mako quipped, hugging Yukiko back while the Yeti attempted to strangle her with affection.

"I'm doing great! What are you two doing here? How did you know about the festival?"

"Well…" Piper shot Roxas a look, who just smiled and waved at them. "Your friend over there ran into our host and invited him and us to the festival."

"Really!?" Yukiko said, turning to Roxas in mock anger. "Roxas! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Slipped my mind." Roxas smiled as he went back to talking with the people who were looking at his photos.

"AR! and I be not a blood-thirsty pirate." Mako said, laughing. "So, show us them here photo-thingies. That's be what we came for no?"

"What? You didn't come just to see me?" Yukiko asked, her eyes growing big and watery, though she was just joking.

"Of course not!" Mako looked away bashfully. "What makes ye thing that. I be a pillaging pirate, thriving off the art of sword-fighting and-"

"Yes, we came here for you." Piper said, shaking her head with a laugh. "And we brought our other housemates as well."

"I would love to meet them!"

"You say that now maty, but don't be regretting it later."

Both ends of the door opened as wide as they could as a large group of exotic character entered the room. Everyone stopped and stared, mostly because these Liminal were well known as difficult species.

"Humph! Fuzz drug us all the way here to see this scrawny runt?" the largest of them said, her furry arms folding. She was a massive Spider Liminal. The same species as Rachnera, but a different breed altogether. Her hair was bright orange, her teeth sharp as blades, and her massive spider-body was covered in a layer of fir. With just a glance, everyone knew she was a large breed.

"Knock it off Tara, your scaring everyone." Piper rolled her eyes.

"Yeah? Well maybe they shouldn't be such damn pussies!" She growled back. Damn she was intimidating. Her six eyes glared at anyone who tried to stare.

"Maybe if you didn't try to scare everyone who crossed your path, you might make some friends…" Said another girl who was standing behind the huge Arachnera. She was a skinny little thing with a petite body and a single large eye. She wore large black boots and a maid uniform. She noticed a few people staring at her and her single eye narrowed. "What are you all staring at, you damn Lolicons!"

"…You really shouldn't talk Iris…" Piper face-palmed.

"This school is to small. I can't stretch my wings here…" the last person said. She was the most intimidating one behind Tara. She was wearing blue overalls and had red scales covering most of her body. Her arms were two huge wings and she had sharp talons for toes and thumbs. "How am I supposed to hunt like this?"

"Vera…please don't hunt here." The familiar cop said as he walked out behind Tara. He was scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Hi everyone."

"Oh! Mr.…Bike cop!" Yukiko said happily.

The Bike cop nearly fell over again. "Hi Yukiko. I'm glad you're doing better."

"More than better! Thanks for brining Piper and Mako!" Yukiko said as she turned to the rest of them. "It's nice to meet you all!"

"Humph, whatever…" Tara growled, turning away from the cheerful Yeti. Yukiko wasn't deterred in the slightest by her intimidating presence. After all, it was nothing compared to being chained up in a shipping crate.

Instead, Yukiko bounded up the to the huge spider woman and gave her a cheerful smile. "Your fir looks so soft!" She said, reaching out and touching the large breed's leg. "What do you do to keep it that way?"

Tara blinked a few times in confusion as she looked at the bundle of happiness. "…It's natural…"

"It is? That must be nice! I have to work so hard to keep my fur nice and fluffy. Yours is so pretty!"

"Pretty…" Tara echoed, clearly caught off guard. Before she realized it, a small blush formed on her cheeks. She quickly shook her head and her brooding face returned.

Yukiko didn't notice as she moved down the line to Iris. "Hi! I'm Yukiko."

"…Hi…" Iris said slowly, looking the Yeti straight in the eye. Since she was a Monoeye Backbeard, she expected the girl to look away from her like everyone else did.

But she didn't.

"Wow, I heard Backbeard's can shoot lasers out of there eyes! Is that true!"

Blinking her huge eye, Iris slowly nodded. "Sort of…we can create large flashes…and sometimes lasers if we concentrate hard enough."

"That's so cool! I wish I could do something like that! I'm just good at resisting the cold." She said, fidgeting her fingers slightly. Suddenly, she threw her arms around Iris's shoulders.

"What are you doing!" Iris shrieked.

"You're so cute! I heard Backbeard's were cute, but I didn't think they would be this adorable!"

"What are you saying kid! I'm way older than you!" Iris pushed her away, blushing heavily. "You think I'm cute?"

"Of course! How could anyone not?" Yukiko said with a smile a she turned to the last member of the group.

The Wyvern was looking around the room absently, as if her mind was focused on something else.

"Hi!" Yukiko said, addressing her.

Vera looked down at Yukiko with disinterest before looking around again. Yukiko simply raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't worry about her." Bike cop said with a chuckle. "Vera is a bit single minded. She doesn't do well with meeting new people, so don't take it personally."

"Keeper, when can we go back to the forest to hunt?"

"After we leave today Vera." Bike cop said with a smile as he turned back to Yukiko. "I have one more tenant…but she was in a bad mood today. I couldn't risk brining her."

"Geeze, your hands are full." Pyra said suddenly, approaching the odd group. "And I thought Kimihito had it rough. Who's your last tenant?"

The bike cop gave a large sigh. "It's a black slime named Guu…She's…temperamental."

"A black slime…" Pyra parroted. "Forget having full hands, you're batshit insane."

"I'll…take that as a complement…" Bike cop laughed.

"Enough of this!" Piper interrupted. "Show us your photographs."

"Oh, right this way!" Yukiko gushed, leading the group to the wall of photographs.

* * *

Simply put, Kimihito was beyond exhausted. The day with Centorea was supposed to be a casual one where they had a simple picnic and walked around the city.

As usual, fate had other plans for him.

First, Centorea nearly destroyed anything she came across because of her large body, then Rachnera showed up and disrupted the picnic. Then Centorea lost her mind and basically tried to rape him, then he was attacked by a wild pig, finally he had to ensure Centorea that she was indeed useful and he enjoyed having her around.

It was…fun to say the least. The day might have been hectic beyond belief, but he wouldn't have had it any other way. Every day was so interesting and brought its fair share of challenges, but that was just the life of a Liminal host.

He was not looking forward to cleaning the house though. He had to rush out with Centorea that morning, so he didn't get the chance to do any chores.

Signing, he unlocked the door to his house and walked in. Flipping on the light, he nearly dropped his keys when he saw the state of the house.

It was immaculate.

The floors were shiny, the kitchen was spotless, the living room organize, and the bathrooms sparkling with iridescent beauty.

At first, the human thought he was dreaming, that his entire house would be a complete mess once he woke up. Rubbing his eyes a few times, he opened them to see a spotless house again.

"What happened here?" He wondered out loud.

"Oh, Good sir! It's nice to see you home."

Kimihito turned around to see Mero sitting in her chair elegantly, her hand folded in her lap.

"Mero…did you do this?"

"Did I do what sir?"

"Did you clean this place?"

Mero looked around before shaking her head. "I believe Roxas was the one responsible good sir." Mero said, her face turning a little depressed at just the mention of his name. "Before he left to the school festival, he did some cleaning. Though I have to admit, I am surprised he got so much done in so little time.

Kimihito was simply astounded as he looked around again. Roxas had done all this? On his own? For the past couple of weeks, Kimihito didn't think Roxas would do something like that for him.

Was he trying to…

Giving a small sigh, a smile creeped along his face.

Roxas was trying to repair their relationship…he just didn't know how. And Kimihito didn't do anything to make that easier.

"Man, I need to do better." He whispered, walking into the house and nearly weeping at how clean it was.

Mero gazed at her host, a sharp feeling of pain in her chest as she watched him go about his business.

Ever since the fallout between her and Roxas, there was this strange pain in her heart every time she saw her fellow housemate. It confused her because her kind valued tragedy above all thing. She should've been happy that Roxas was no longer talking to her. She should've been happy that the atmosphere in the house had become strained and tense. She should've been happy that Pyra and Yukiko no longer came over, providing their own slice of happiness to the mix. These were all tragedies, things she wanted to happen.

But they didn't make her happy.

Instead, she felt a pain in her heart that refused to leave. A pain that she began to detest greatly.

* * *

About four hours in, everyone was getting a little tired. They had been talking to people for a long time, and the hype of the Festival was starting to die out. There were only a few people left in the Photography club room.

Xion gave a yawn as she rubbed her eyes, waiting for the day to end. She wanted to get out and get some fresh air, but they had another hour before they could start packing away.

"Well, these are pretty nice."

Xion felt pressure on the top of her head as someone lean on her with there forearmed. She blinked a couple times because only one person had that kind of drawl to their voice.

"Axel!" She exclaimed, turning around and throwing her arms around the Nobodies midsection. "You made it! I didn't think you were coming."

"Oh Xion. Silly, stupid, Xion." Axel mocked, ruffling her hair with his gloved hand. "I'm a target for assassination. What do you think would happen if I walked into this building when it's crowded with innocent bystanders? Hm?"

Xion shot him a playful glare, released him and gave him a good punch in the stomach.

"Ooof! Yesh, you've been spending way too much time with these kids." He said, rubbing his gut.

"Hello! Who are you?" Ichiro asked, glad to have another body in the room.

Axel turned to the kid with a grin. "Axel, got it memorized." He said, tapping his temple.

"Axel…Wait, you're the guy, right? The guy who saved all the Liminal from the trafficking Incident and…killed the traders."

"That's me, got a problem with that?" Axle asked, a dangerous edge to his voice. He wasn't going to do anything to the poor kid, but it was sure fun as hell to watch him squirm.

"Axel, knock it off." Roxas said, jabbing him in the shoulder.

"Geeze, what's with all the Axel abuse. Maybe I should have stayed home." Axel said, giving his fellow nobody a grin before turning to Pyra and Yukiko. He reached over and ruffled up both girl's hair. "So how have you guys been? Haven't been kidnapped recently I hope."

"Smooth Axel…" Pyra rolled his eyes and batted away his arm. "Still an asshole I see."

"Course! Gotta be if you're dealing with lawyers and judges all day."

"The trials are still going on?" Ichiro asked.

"Sure are. Hopefully things will take a turn for the better soon. Until then, just wait out the laws for now." He said, glancing over at the last member of the club. "And you are?"

"Callie. Nice to meet you." She said with a shy smile.

"Alright! Now that I've met the whole brigade, why don't you show me the photos. Make it quick though because I can't stay to long."

"You can't?" Xion asked, a little sad.

"Nope. Can't stay in one place to long, or people might find out I'm here. Don't know if you've noticed or not, but people don't really like me. Can't risk the school now, can we?" Axel asked.

"No…that wouldn't be good." Roxas concluded.

"Right, so now that we understand each other, let get this over with." He said, resting an arm on Xion's shoulder and letting her guide him through the room.

* * *

The first day of the festival was finally coming to an end and everyone was packing up, getting ready to go home. It had been very success and a lot of people had been impressed with the photographs from the photography club. Mako, Piper, Vera, Iris, Tara, and Bike Cop left quite a while ago, but not before getting Yukiko's number so they could hang out in the future.

A large group of people were walking home from school, completely exhausted. The group contained Miia, Roxas, Suu, Xion, Yukiko, and Pyra. It was a drag to take Yukiko and Pyra home, but finally they found themselves back at Kimihito's.

Miia was spent. Despite not being a student, she had gained quite the following fanbase because of her belly dance. She might've been tired, but the Lamia was on cloud nine by the time the day was done.

Suu thoroughly enjoyed herself. She drew a ton of attention to herself as she wondered down the hallways of the school, but she didn't cause any trouble. In fact, the principle was very impressed with her knowledge. If they ever found the funding, she would be happy to take the slime into the education system. Who knows, she might be a good ambassador for other slimes as well.

Roxas and Xion were tired as they slouched into the house. Miia had departed to her room to get some well deserved shut-eye, but not before pecking Roxas on the cheek.

"Roxas, this day was so amazing!" She said with a tired, happy smile. "Thank you so much for inviting me."

"Would you like to come tomorrow?"

"Oh, I think I'll pass." Miia said. "I'm really tired and I don't think I can handle two days like this in a row. But thanks for asking, lil' bro."

"No problem, sis." Roxas said, watching her depart to her room.

Xion went back to her own room and Roxas was walking to his when the door to the attic suddenly burst open. A stream of web shot out and snagged the front of his shirt and yanked him into the opening.

"Hey squirt! Heard you had a fun time today." Rachnera said with a sharp toothed smile.

"…Why am I always tied up Rachnee?" Roxas asked dryly. He was sitting crossed-legged in the attic while Rachnera had her back to him, typing away at her keyboard.

"It's a force of habit." Rachnera justified. For some reason, she looked extra happy to see him. "Hey, I got some good news on the book you asked me to edit."

"I asked you?"

"I just so happened to know a guy and he was interested in what you had to write. He's actually putting it through to the agents to see if we have a market for your story."

"Um…Really? But I didn't write it to publish."

"But this is a very intriguing story story. I thought a lot of people might be interested in reading it. Besides, you shouldn't complain. If you do get it published, you might make a bit of money."

"I could?" Roxas asked, his eyes widening a little.

"Yep! Wouldn't it nice to have a little spending money to go out with your friends? You've been leaching off of Honey this whole time, haven't you?"

Hearing that, Roxas nodded. He had been relying on the human for any sort of money when he went out with Yukiko and Pyra. And in return, he did what? A little cleaning here a there? Taking out his other housemates every once in a while? To be honest, Kimihito had been providing all of his expenses and the nobody hadn't been doing his part to help.

"Yeah, it would be nice to be a little self-sustaining." Roxas said.

"Great, then it's settled. I'll let you know if any progress has been made. You just keep writing and you might even have a series on our hands." Rachnera smiled as she threw him out of the attic.

* * *

That night, Roxas had another dream about Sora. Though this time, it was a little different. "Roxas…If you can see what I see…and Hear what I hear through your dreams…let me know…Because I think I can see your life too…And we need to talk…"

* * *

 **Authors Note: wow, I can't believe I kept writing. I didn't know if I was going to continue this story or not, but one day I just started writing on it again, and I didn't stop until the chapter was complete. To be honest, I feel like the more I write, the more difficult it is to keep going. When I started writing A Heart in the void, I was publishing a chapter every two day. It was incredible, like I had discovered a hidden joy in my life. But as time went on, it was harder and harder to write. Maybe it was because I got a full-time job and I just don't feel like writing at the end of the day. But I keep doing it because I want to get better. Possibly good enough to publish something for real one day.**

 **Anyway, enough of that rant. How did you like the chapter? This is more back along the lines of a rom-com story. It doesn't do much to much escalate the plot, but it's just random adventures of an everyday life of a nobody. Hope you enjoyed either way. Please review!**


	22. Chapter 22 Day 56-57

**Authors Note: Hey everyone, Thanks for your thoughts on the last chapter. I'm glad most of you enjoyed it. I liked writing it because it was all about the character interactions rather than action. I find interactions more interesting than fights when it comes to writing. It's been over three months since I last updated and boy it's been eventful. I Almost finished my stand-alone book in that time and now I need to start working on the rewriting…which takes up the majority of time when it comes to being an author. Not much else to say so I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 22

Day 56-57

Usually, Sunday was an eventful day. It was a day where Kimihito would take his wards out to get a bite to eat and explore the city, but everyone seemed busy with something. Roxas and Xion had their festival, Kimihito was out of the house the entire day, and the rest of the house mates were being suspiciously quiet about something. What it was, Roxas didn't know and didn't see a point in further investigation.

Getting ready for the last day of the festival, Roxas dressed himself in his school uniform. He was grateful it was the final day because it took a lot of energy to talk to so many different people. The first day went amazingly well, but it did leave everyone exhausted and happy that the festival was only two days long.

That being said, the Nobody couldn't help but admit how much he did enjoy the atmosphere. There was so much excitement from the staff, students, and public that you couldn't stop yourself from enjoying it. He got to spend time with his friends, meet a lot of people, and show off some cool pictures of the sunset on different worlds.

It was also fun to torment Ichiro in withholding knowledge about how he got his pictures. There were a few times the president of the photography club accused him of using photoshop, but Roxas would neither confirm nor deny the accusations.

Xion was also questioned by Yukiko and Pyra because they were curious as to how she got the photographs of the beach with different sea shells. It was a simple answer of using the Corridor of darkness, for which Yukiko whined about the unfairness of teleportation. Roxas had to agree because the ability to teleport really made it easy to get to stunning locations in order to get cool pictures.

Speaking of the Corridor, Roxas realized he may have to use it very soon to leave this world again. As he buttoned up his shirt, his mind wondered back to the message he got from the one he had a connection to.

Sora.

Truthfully, the Nobody was quite surprised when he dreamed about the message Sora gave. He didn't realize the fellow Keyblade warrior could see his life. When did that happen? If Sora was able to see his life, then why didn't he recognize Roxas the first time they met? But a more pressing question echoed through his mind.

Why?

How was Sora able to see his life? What was there connection? Why did Sora seem to feel they knew each other during their first meeting? Why were they so familiar with each other?

Those were all things Roxas wanted to ask his fellow Keyblade wielder when he saw him next. But now that he knew Sora could see his life, maybe communication wouldn't be so difficult. It was worth giving a try.

"Sora…" Roxas started as he finished getting dressed. "I got your message. I'm kinda surprised you can see my life in your dreams…like I can see yours. If you want to meet, I'll see what I can do…Just tell me when and where."

It was a bit weird talking to himself like this, especially since he didn't know if Sora would get the message or not. Even when he dreamed about Sora, it was fragmented into bits and pieces. Rarely was something cohesive when it came to viewing the boy's life.

Still, what was the connection between him and Sora? Why could they see each other's life? Why could they both use the Keyblade?

As he finished getting dressed for the festival, Roxas pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind for now. He had another day of the festival to participate in and he wanted to focus on asking a certain someone to come.

Kimihito.

The Nobody was still a little nervous around his host. He didn't know how to approach him anymore, not after seeing how jumpy, nervous, and fidgety Kimihito was around him.

It was easy to notice.

It was like Kimihito thought Roxas would snap at the slightest aggravation. After seeing how he reacted to what Mero said, the nobody could somewhat understandable. But he didn't want that kind of relationship with Kimihito. He didn't want his host to think of him that way.

Kimihito was the only one the Nobody could go to for advice, to get a mature opinion, and to seek guidance from. Now, he didn't have that support anymore and he really wanted it. Not only did he want it, but he really needed it.

The only problem was that Roxas didn't know how to mend their relationship. He didn't know what he could do to convince his host that he wasn't an unstable killer that would snap at the smallest hair trigger.

Suddenly, the nobody hissed in pain. It happened out of nowhere, but a stabbing pain seared through Roxas's brain. He winced as he clasped his forehead with his palm, giving a little gasp of agony. However, as soon as it happened, the pain was gone. He blinked a couple times in confusion before simply shrugging it off. Morning headaches were a common thing after all. What was a little pain when you had something bigger to focus on?

Giving a sigh, Roxas walked out of his room and down the hallway. He descended the stairs before entering the kitchen.

There was the person in question with his back turned. Kimihito was working, diligently preparing breakfast for everyone in the house. His hands moved with majestic grace as he simultaneously scrambled the eggs, flipped the beacon, and stirred the pancake batter. It was always incredible to see the man work with such charisma while whistling a jaunty tune. How in the world had Roxas managed to upset such a person?

Biting his lower lip, the Nobody could feel his nerves getting the better of him. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach because he didn't want to see the usual look of nervousness Kimihito gave when Roxas entered the room. It was a constant reminder that their relationship was still in pieces.

But steeling himself over, the Nobody entered the kitchen and stood behind the human. Kimihito was humming away joyfully as he worked his magic.

"Um…Kimihito?"

As expected, Kimihito jumped a little before looking over his shoulder at the Nobody. Roxas could see the nervousness in his eyes as they connected with his own. It hurt a little to see, but he needed to make this right. He couldn't keep letting fear deter him from trying to mend things.

"Oh, morning Roxas…" Kimihito said with a small smile.

"Good morning…um…" Roxas fumbled. "I was wondering if…"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to come to our school festival today?" He asked hopefully.

Kimihito paused in mid flip of the bacon, making eye contact with the young boy. He could see the nervousness in Roxas's eyes, so it killed him to disappoint. He did want to come to the festival and support his younger tenants, but he already had something important scheduled.

"Sorry Roxas…I kinda have plans for today."

"Oh…Alright." Roxas said, clear disappointed in his voice. "Well…maybe next time."

Kimihito cringed a little because he knew there wouldn't be a next time for a long while. The festival would be done today, so this would be his last chance. But he had other obligations that had to do with his safety. They needed to find the person who was threatening him in those letters. And he couldn't tell Roxas about the threat because…

He hated thinking like this, but Kimihito knew Roxas would try to involve himself, in a possibly deadly way. After what he did the bay and the incident with Rachnera, he didn't know if the young boy would control himself.

Sill, it broke his heart to see Roxas so disappointed. It was clear the boy was trying to mend things with him, based on his recent actions. He would love to go, he really would, but this situation couldn't be put off. Especially if the person threatening him would start targeting someone else in the house.

True to Kimihito's thoughts, Roxas was sad. He didn't show it much on his face, but he felt disappointed that his plan didn't work. Kimihito was a busy man and probably had things to do today, but it sounded more like an excuse to avoid him…again.

He gave another sigh as he turned to leave the kitchen.

"Roxas, would you like breakfast?" Kimihito asked quickly when he saw the Nobody about to leave.

"Huh? Oh, no thanks. Polt invited Xion and I over for breakfast with Yukiko and Pyra." He said as he walked out of the kitchen.

Now it was Kimihito's turn to feel sad. Roxas and Xion had been going to Polt's house more often than usual. With Xion's case, she usually just followed Roxas around because he was the one she was most comfortable with. Out of everyone, Kimihito had the least interaction with her.

Hearing Yukiko's and Pyra's name bummed him out as well. The two young girls added their own flair to the happy atmosphere of the house. But he hadn't seen them in over a week. He could only guess that Roxas told them what Mero said. It was understandable because that would be a deterrent to ever coming over.

It was sad that they didn't stop by anymore. This whole situation was sad…and he needed to do something about it soon. This simply couldn't continue.

* * *

It was breakfast time at Polt's house and Roxas was sitting in front of a large array of fruits, oatmeal, and proteins…like ham, sausage, and bacon. The owner of Sport's club Kobold was a great cook, that was the truth, but she did have a habit of shying away from the carbs.

Unlike Kimihito, who usually made pancakes, toast, and other carb-heavy and delicious food, Polt tried to make there diet as heathy as possible. It wasn't a bad thing, but Yukiko and Pyra were beginning to miss Kimihito's style of cooking…A style that included sugar, fats, carbs, and happiness…

The happiness usually came from something other than the food though…

It was disappointing that things were still so awkward.

Polt knew what was going on, but it didn't stop her from enjoying the increased time she got to spend with everyone. True, she wanted things to get better, but she wasn't about to let their conflict spread into her house. So, they didn't talk about it much, hoping that the situation would eventually be resolved given enough time.

Unfortunately, Roxas didn't share the same optimism. He didn't think things would magically change. If things were going to get better, someone needed to make it happen. It was the main reason he invited Kimihito to the festival and began doing more chores around the house. Everything was an attempt at taking small steps in repairing their jumpy relationship.

Sadly, Kimihito had other plans today, which was a bummer because this was the last day of the festival. Hell, even Polt was going to close down the gym for a couple hours and support them.

"Roxas…You ok?"

Roxas glanced up from his meal, meeting Yukiko's worried expression.

"I'm fine." He said quickly, returning to his food.

"You haven't said anything this morning, and you seem really…sad." The Yeti pressed.

Roxas gave a sigh. He didn't want to bring a depressing atmosphere to the breakfast table. "I asked Kimihito to our festival…"

Yukiko's eyes brightened in hope. "Yeah? And what did he say?"

"…He was busy." Roxas said in defeat. A storm cloud could almost be seen above his head.

"Well…Don't let it get to ya." Pyra added, throwing a grin to the Nobody, but inside she was fuming. She really hoped the human would get over it by now, but he was being stubborn. "At least you let him know you're trying right?"

"Yeah…but what if it doesn't work? What if the only way to make things better is if I leave?"

"Then leave…" Pyra said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, Aunty would let you say here, right?"

"Of course!" Polt chimed it, throwing a huge smile at the four of them. "Roxas is pretty much family now. It would be awesome to have everyone living here. We could exercise together, run the gym together, eat together, bathe together…" She began listing off different activities on her paws.

"Well…maybe not the last one…Actually, that might be kinda fun…" Pyra laughed.

"…I wouldn't like it if Roxas left…" Xion said nervously. "He's is the only one I really know there. And it would be…lonely."

"Then move here to! There's plenty of room for everyone. In fact, I can assign rooms right now!" Polt said, sounding more and more ecstatic.

"Hold your horses Auntie." Pyra said, calming her hyperactive aunt. "Before we make any plans, Roxas still needs to give it his all."

"I agree. It may be awkward right now, but they're still our friends." Yukiko said, her eyebrows scrunched. "We can't give up before we even try."

"They're right." Roxas nodded, feeling a little bad because of the crushed look on Plots face. "I can't give up without trying…but I really appreciate your willingness to take us in."

Polt's ears flattened against her head, her eyes getting big and pouty. "Awe…I was hoping we could all live in the same house. Just imagine how much it would help Pyra if all her friends were nearby."

"What do you mean by that?!" Pyra asked, narrowing her eyes at the Kobold. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

Yukiko, Roxas, and Xion all giggled to themselves and Pyra shot a glare at them. "What the fuck are you laughing at!?"

Pyra and Yukiko were completely right. He only tried a few things so far, so of course there wouldn't be much progress. The real problem though wasn't just his relationship with Kimihito though…

It was Mero.

Even if Roxas and his host repaired their relationship, the atmosphere would probably be the same because of the mermaid. How would he handle that situation? Talk to her? Forgive her?

Roxas grit his teeth at even thinking about talking with the deranged Mermaid. Why should he talk to her? After all, this was what she wanted right? She wanted a tragedy, and she lost a lot of her friends. Shouldn't she be elated?

The Nobody shook his head, pushing that to the back of his mind and returning to the more enjoyable conversation. He could think about that later…for now, he wanted to enjoy the company of his friends. It always made his day a bit better when he laughed along side them at the expense of Pyra, who was throwing her fist around with mock anger.

"Ouch!" Roxas hissed as another jab of sharp pain pierced his brain. This time it lingered for a few seconds before leaving again. This was the third of fourth time this morning that the headache occurred. Looking up, he realized no one noticed his reaction because they were all laughing at Pyra's temper tantrum. He decided to worry about his headache later as he joined in the laughter.

* * *

"Alright, last day of the festival! Let's make it a good one!" Ichiro said as he and the rest of the photography club prepared for the day.

Roxas was hanging his pictures again, admiring the sunsets from different worlds. Ichiro continued to pester him constantly about how he got them, but the nobody always avoided answering. Even if there were strange and bizarre creatures like Liminal's in this world, it would be a little overwhelming for most to realize that he and Xion were from a different world entirely. How would they react? How would anyone in the photography club react of they knew? It was one thing that really worried Roxas.

Looking at the picture of Destiny Island, he gave a small smile as he thought back on some of Sora's early memories with Riku and Kairi. The three friends were always together, happily talking about the time they would leave their island and travel to different worlds.

Roxas felt the complete opposite. This was the world he didn't want to leave. He always felt so happy to be around his friends while continuing to learn about himself and the world. His friends were everything to him and he would do anything for them. He wanted to ignore the fact that he and Xion were on the run from Organization 13, hoping one day, the Organization would forget all about them.

But he also remembered that Organization 13 was releasing heartless into the worlds to look for them. It was something he eventually came to realize before, but chose to ignore it.

How many people have fallen to the darkness because Roxas and Xion continued to hide in this blissfully ignorant world? How many worlds have been consumed by the darkness and how much havoc had Organization 13 already caused. How hard were Sora and his friends working to keep the darkness at bay?

Because of him.

When he had a dream about Sora and how he was trying to communicate, Roxas was reminded that there were people looking for him, leaving a trail of darkness and destruction in their wake. Organization 13 would never give up trying to find them. They needed the Keyblade for whatever plan they had.

It might be tomorrow…or it might be years in the future, but eventually they would find him. Eventually, he would have to fight against them. And eventually…

It would probably be best if he saw Sora as soon as possible. The more experienced Keyblade master might know what to do about the Organization and how to stop them.

"Hey Roxas, you really need to tell me where you got these photos…Hey, what's with that face?"

Roxas glanced over to see Pyra standing there with a raised eyebrow. She caught him in deep thought, so he didn't even realize she was there until she said something. She frowned with her paws on her hips.

"What do you mean?"

"You have that thinking face again!"

"I have a thinking face?" Roxas asked with amusement.

"Yeah, it's like a super serious face, as if you're trying to find the meaning of existence?"

"…Well…I wouldn't know that."

"What's up? You've been out of it all morning, and I know it's not just about big bro."

"Just…There's a lot on my mind." Roxas deflected. He hated saying that because of how redundant it sounded. It was his go-to excuse when he didn't want to talk about something.

Apparently, Pyra was tired of it as well. "Such as?"

"…"

There was an awkward silence between the two friends for a couple good minutes before Pyra gave a little sigh. "Always so secretive…You won't tell us where you got those photos, you won't say anything about yourself, and even when you worried us to death and popped up out of nowhere with Xion, you didn't say anything!" She said, her paws on her hips and an annoyed expression on her face. "When are you going to trust us, Roxas?"

"…" Again, Roxas didn't say anything as he stared into Pyra's red orbs. She was always a headstrong girl, sarcastic, funny, violent, seductive, loyal…but Roxas saw something else this time. Past the tough act she always put on, there was a tiny bit of hurt in her eyes every time he refused to say anything about himself. It hurt her when she thought he didn't trust them. What could he say when she looked at him like that?

He opened and closed his mouth a couple times before looking away. "I'm sorry…"

"I don't want you to be sorry Roxas, I just want you to know that…you can trust us. We…care about you." She said, causing Roxas to look over at her, his eyes wide. It looked like she swallowed her pride to admit that. "Just a little…don't let it go to your head."

"Right…"

"And if there is anything you want to tell us, we'll listen."

Roxas nodded again, licking his lips nervously. He really, REALLY wanted to tell them about what he was…and where he came from…but if he tried to explain it, it wouldn't make any sense at all. How was he supposed to explain it when he didn't even know everything?

"Pyra…Yukiko…Xion…" He said, addressing the three in the room. Luckily Ichiro and Callie were off doing…what they usually did around this time. He liked them and all, but he wasn't ready to let them know yet.

Pyra frowned a little because she thought he blew her off again, but the somber look on his face stopped her from getting angry. When he made that face, they knew he had something important to say.

"After the festival…I might be gone for a couple days."

"Huh?" Pyra said, thrown off by his unexpected response.

"Where are you going?" Yukiko asked curiously, a hint of worry in her voice.

"I…I was recently contacted by someone I know, someone I met a while ago. He said.…We needed to talk…" Roxas said, trying to choose his words carefully.

"Roxas, who are you talking about?" Xion asked.

Roxas licked his lips again, wondering if it would be ok to say who it was. But eventually, he decided it wouldn't be a problem if he dropped a name.

"Sora."

"Sora?" Yukiko asked in confusion, glancing at Pyra to see if she knew the name, but she shook her head the negative.

"Sora!? But…when did he contact you? How?" Xion asked with wide eyes.

"It's hard to explain…I just need to see him. I don't know how long I will be gone, but I need to talk to him about something." Roxas said as he thought back on his dream. He had an idea what Sora wanted to talk about, but he had a different conversation in mind.

"What's going on Roxas? Who is Sora?" Pyra asked.

"He's…a friend of ours." He said, gesturing to Xion. "We met him when I brought Xion back from when I went to see Organization 13."

"Back when you disappeared." Yukiko said, a frown on her face. "You never did tell us what that was all about."

Roxas bit his lower lip, the answer about to explode out of his mouth. But again, it wouldn't make any sense at all if he tried to explain it. There simply wouldn't be enough time.

"When I get back…I'll explain everything I know. I promise…" Roxas said.

"Roxas…you mean…Everything?" Xion asked, her eyes a bit fearful.

"They're our friends Xion." Roxas said. "We can't hide it forever."

"Hide what? What are you talking about?" Pyra asked again, this time with an edge of annoyance in her voice.

"I said I would explain it when I got back." Roxas said. "Maybe then I might understand better myself."

"…" You could see the conflicted emotions on Yukiko and Pyra's faces. They looked at each other for a brief moment before looking back at the Nobody and the puppet. They wanted to know right now…but they also wanted to trust their friends…and earn that trust themselves.

"Ok…But remember, you promised." Yukiko said sharply. "Please don't hide anything from us anymore. That's what you made me promise too, right?"

Roxas nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I did. I promise, any question you have, I will try my best to answer."

"…Alright…I WILL hold you to that Roxas." Pyra said with a threatening growl, poking him in the chest with her claw. "You try to make an excuse, or try to dodge the question, or do the whole "I'll tell you later" Bullshit, and I will MAIM you!"

"I get it!" Roxas laughed, not really intimidated by her glare…even though he knew she would probably do just that. "But enough of this though, we have a festival to prepare for, right?"

Just then, Ichiro and Callie returned to the clubroom. Callie looked like she was on top of the moon, but Ichiro looked drained as usual. However, he noticed the slightly tense atmosphere in the room and cocked an eyebrow. "Um…did something happen?"

"No, just discussing something." Yukiko said with a smile. "Let's make this a good last day of the festival."

"Well said!" Ichiro said with a smile.

* * *

It was about four hours into the festival and multiple people were visiting the clubroom, looking over the photos. There weren't as many as yesterday, but there were enough to keep members of the photography club busy.

Many of them asked questions about the photos Roxas had taken, so he had an interesting time trying to explain how he got the pictures. When he was forced in a corner, he had to default to the good ol' photographer's secret excuse, which annoyed a lot of people.

The Nobody was in the middle of talking about one of the photos when a couple more people entered the clubroom. Since so many individuals were coming in and out all day long, he didn't notice them until they were standing right in front of him.

When he finished talking his current guest, Roxas turned to see a bunch of familiar faces. His eyes widened and his mouth fell opened slightly. A warm feeling spread through his chest as he recognized the person standing in front of him with a kind smile.

"Kimihito!"

"Hey Roxas." The brother-figure said, smiling down at the boy. Standing beside him were more people the Nobody easily recognized.

"Heya squirt!"

"Hi cutie!"

"Hello…"

"Sup kid."

"Everyone…" Roxas said, his eyes trailing along Zombina, Tio, Manako, and Doppel. "What are you all doing here?"

"Well…" Kimihito said, scratching the back of his head again. "We finished up what we were doing early and decided to swing by."

"What you were doing?"

"What do you think he was doing?" Zombina said with a toothy smile. "He was showing us a good time around town, if you know what I mean."

"…I don't." Roxas said honestly, causing the zombie to laugh out loud.

"What she means was that he was taking us all out on a date." Doppel clarified, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, it's really not fun at all to mess with someone with amnesia."

"…" Roxas ignored her comment as he looked up at Kimihito, a grateful smile spreading across his lips. "I'm glad you're here Kimihito…"

Kimihito hesitated for a second before reaching over and ruffling the Nobody's hair like he usually did. It was more than just a friendly gesture. It was one that had a lot of meaning behind it.

Kimihito knew what Roxas meant when he said he was glad Kimihito came. Him being there was confirmation that he was willing to try and put everything behind them. It meant there was hope that things could go back to the way they were. Truthfully, it made Kimihito feel a little bad that it had come to this and that he gave the impression he didn't want things to improve.

"No problem Roxas. Sorry I couldn't let you know earlier. I didn't think we would finish up so quickly."

"No, don't worry about it." Roxas said with a smile. "What matter is that you're here. It means a lot to me."

"Big bro! You're here!"

Kimihito felt the wind knock out of him as a white, furry blur slammed into his stomach, causing him to stumble into Tio. He gave a quick apology before looking down to see Yukiko's smiling face looking up at him. She crushed his ribs in a strong embrace.

"Hey Yukiko. It's been a little while." He said, patting the top of her head affectionately. She snuggled into his palm joyfully, squeezing his midsection to the point where it began to feel painful.

"So, you actually did decided to show up." Pyra said, walking up to them and giving Kimihito a good slug in the shoulder. "And here we thought you'd blow us off."

"Ouch…" Kimihito said, rubbing his arm. "I was busy! I didn't know if I would make it or not."

"Yeah, we know." Pyra said with a smile. "But I'm glad you came."

"And you brought others as well." Yukiko said, looking up at Tio. The two paused for a moment before there mutual love of hugs took over. They embraced each other with dramatic flair while the rest decided to browse around the gallery, checking out the photos.

Kimihito chuckled as he turned to check out the photographs from Roxas's collection. "These are very pretty Roxas."

"Thanks. I realized how much I like sunsets and sunrises after I saved Yukiko…" He flinched a little because he didn't mean to bring up the past just as he and Kimihito were talking again. "Sorry…"

Kimihito gave a small smile as he shook his head. "No Roxas…I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Roxas looked over at his host, his eyes widening a bit.

"Listen…" He paused, looking around to make sure no one was listening to there conversation. "I…I want you to know that I'm sorry for how I've been acting around you lately."

Roxas just looked over at his host, seeing the regret on his face. "No, it's alright…I was the one who…"

"It wasn't alright." Kimihito interrupted. "I treated you like a bomb with a short fuse. After that night…I was worried that you might attack us too, especially after how you lost your temper with Mero."

The nobody looked away from his host, feeling a little ashamed of himself. He did react harshly to Mero and what she said. Anyone who saw the state he was in would be worried.

"I was wrong to feel that way…" Kimihito continued. "You have great power Roxas. But you always use it to protect others. When you tried to save me, when you protected your friends at the manga store, and when you saved Yukiko…"

Roxas felt warmth enter his being as he absorbed Kimihito's words

"While I still don't condone killing, I understand why you did it Roxas." Kimihito said, glancing over at him. "I just want to let you know that I'm proud you'd go so far to save your friends."

The Nobody felt his throat tighten up as he glanced up at Kimihito again. "But I…I killed them. I was so angry that they took Yukiko that I…wanted them dead."

"I know…" Kimihito said sadly. "And that way of thinking is the reason I was so jumpy around you..."

Biting his lower lip, Roxas looked away from his host again. Shame was starting to return when he realized Kimihito was right. Sure, he wanted to save Yukiko, but he wanted to kill those who took her. At that point, he killed the traffickers not just to save his friend, but because he wanted them dead.

"But you're young and still learning. If there is no other choice Roxas, please…when you take a life, please make sure it's for the right reason. Make sure it's to protect someone else or yourself, not because you just want to end their life." Kimihito said, throwing Roxas a somber smile.

Roxas felt tears in his eyes, so he quickly wiped them away before they could fall down his face. "I can promise that."

"Good." Kimihito said with a smile, ruffling the nobody's hair again and rested a hand on his shoulder. "So, are you going to tell me about these photos, or not?"

"Of course, I will." Roxas said before he winced in pain, rubbing his forehead.

"Hey, are you ok?" Kimihito asked in concern.

"Yeah…just a persistent headache."

* * *

It was the end of the day and the sun was slowly setting in the sky. By this time, everyone was cleaning up after a long day at the festival. Booths were being torn down, trash was being picked up, and students were filing into the school gym for the end-of-festival celebration. The festival was a complete success, allowing others to see the results of Liminal integration into a school system. Many of the public were impressed at how seamless the transition was and how it added a new flavor of culture to the school. Now it was time to celebrate.

When everything was cleaned up, the photography club walked through the halls and entered the large Gym. Food was laid out on tables near the edge of the gym while tables were set up on the perimeter. Music was playing and many students were already conversing with each other or dancing in the middle.

It was very interesting to watch. At the beginning of the year, most of the students were divided into their clicks, leaving the Liminal kids to fend for themselves. But now everyone, humans and Liminal, were laughing, eating, dancing, and joking with each other. It was proof enough that the clubs were a great idea since it brought them together.

It was also possible that the trafficking incident was also responsible for the dropped barriers between humans and Liminal kind. With how the story was spread by the newspaper club, everyone was made aware of the horrors that occurred thanks to the witnesses in the photography club. After that, no one dared discriminate against the Liminal students. No one was that tasteless to continue such prejudice in the wake of such a horrifying event.

The changes were very noticeable by everyone, especially the ones in the photography club.

"Things are so different now…" Callie said as she followed the rest of her club members in getting their food.

"Yeah…it's like the former atmosphere completely disappeared." Ichiro concurred.

"How long do you think it will last?" Pyra asked, picking up a plate and loading it with meat.

"Hopefully for a long time. I really don't want it to go back to the way it was." Yukiko said, filling her plate as well while looking around for an empty table.

"It is nice though. I mean we haven't had to deal with Kichi and her groupies for a while." Roxas said. The photography club found an empty table and sat down while watching others finish their meal and start dancing on the gym floor. They even saw Kichi and her club walking around and talking with people without bothering anyone.

"Everything is so different now…" Yukiko said, amazement in her voice. "Just two months ago, I was friendless, with a horrible host, and completely alone…But now…"

"Humph, you and me both." Pyra said.

"Make that three!" Callie cheered, her mouth full of veggies. "I didn't have any friends either until Ichiro invited me to the club." She said, throwing a flirtation look at the human.

The orange haired boy blushed heavily and looked down at his food.

"Awe! He's so adorable." Pyra teased, reaching over and giving the photography club president a painful slug on the arm. "I bet he was happy too. I mean who wouldn't want to milk you as often as he does?"

"Pyra!" Callie gasped in horror. Yukiko almost spit out her drink while steam gushed out of poor Ichiro's ears.

"Oh, stop it!" Pyra laughed. "Everyone knows what you two do when you take off."

"No, I don't" Roxas and Xion said simultaneously.

"Well…don't ask!" Callie exclaimed, her and Ichiro's faces burning with embarrassment.

Everyone laughed as Roxas and Xion just shrugged in confusion, returning to their food. The rest of there meal went by with idle chatter. Eventually, they were finished eating and found themselves just enjoying the music and watching people dance.

Again, this was a new experience for Roxas. He didn't know the first thing about dancing, but it did look fun. He wasn't about to get up and do it himself, but it didn't stop him from simply grooving with his shoulders as he sat there. Something about the fun music just made him want to move.

He wasn't the only one either because everyone else was doing the same, even Xion. It felt natural just to move to the music, even if he didn't know why.

Suddenly, the musical tone shifted to something much slower. They noticed that a bunch of people left the dance floor and only a few stayed, mostly boys and girls. Except this time, instead of everyone dancing on their own, they turned to one another and began to dance with each other. It was much different than before.

"Roxas!" Yukiko said, suddenly slamming her paws on the table and startling him. He turned to see the eager smile on Yukiko's face. "Let's dance!"

"Dance?"

"Yes dance!"

"…I don't know how to dance." He said, feeling a little nervous.

"C'mon! I'll show you!" She said, standing up and grabbing his arm before yanking him to his feet. There were a few more students dancing with each other on the gym floor, but most had chosen to sit back down and watch instead.

When they entered the clearing, Yukiko tugged Roxas to the middle before turning to face him. She grasped his hands and put them on her hips while she hooked her arms around his shoulders. He blushed a bit because he didn't know what he was supposed to do now. He stood there like a board, completely oblivious as to what he was supposed to do.

"Just follow my lead, M'kay?"

"Um…Sure." Roxas said, trying to mimic her slow, rhythmic movements. It was a little awkward and embarrassing because he couldn't get the rhythm down at all, but Yukiko was patient with him. Eventually, he started to relax and let the music flow through him. He realized that the movements Yukiko was doing was in sync with the music playing. If he just listened and allowed his body to follow, he was able to pick up on how he was supposed to move. It took a little bit of time, but eventually he started to understand.

He noticed the pleased look on Yukiko's face when he started to relax and become more comfortable with dancing. The nobody couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something nice about this atmosphere.

Yukiko's teal eyes were staring into his, a soft smile on her face. "Well, that didn't take long." She said playfully.

"Huh?"

"Learning how to dance." She said as she pulled herself closer until she pressed the side of her face against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you learned so quickly."

"…Thank you…" Roxas couldn't think of anything else to say. He just simply held her close and continued to let the music flow through his body and control his movements.

"This has been amazing." Yukiko said with a satisfied sign. "I'm really glad to be here."

"…" Roxas curled his hands around her waist, resting them on her lower back. "Yeah, me too. I'm glad I met you in the mall that day."

Yukiko giggled, adjusting herself a bit to get more comfortable. "You have no idea how happy I was when I saw you in class for the first time. I wanted to jump out of my seat and hug the life out of you."

"You did…" Roxas chuckled, remembering how she nearly strangled him. It had become a usual occurrence to find himself out of breath after one of her hugs.

"Awe C'mon, it wasn't that bad."

"No…it wasn't." Roxas agreed. "Thank you, Yukiko."

Yukiko cocked an eyebrow before pulling away from him, a confused look in her eye. "For what? I should be thanking you."

Roxas shook his head. "Before I met You, I…was nothing. I didn't remember anything…I didn't feel anything…I wasn't anything. But…" he paused for a few seconds, giving her a smile. "But after I met you, it's almost like I started to become my own person. I didn't think it was possible for someone like me."

Yukiko cocked her head in confusion. His words made her heart flutter, but they were confusing. "What do you mean?"

Roxas gave her a smile again, one that melted her heart into a puddle. "I promised to tell you everything after I get back, right?" Roxas said. "Just be patient for a little while longer."

She puffed out her cheeks in a cute pout, but pulled herself closer to him again. "You'd better. It's really driving me crazy! It's like there's a wall between you and the rest of us."

"I'm sorry…"

Yukiko hugged him tighter as they continued to move to the slow music. "I'm just glad you're willing to tell us. I can't imagine what it is, but it must be important to you."

"It is…but I think it's time you and Pyra should know."

"Damn right!" A voice interrupted them.

Yukiko and Roxas jumped as they turned to see the Hellhound standing there with her paws on her hips and a grin on her face.

"Pyra! How long have you been standing there!?" Yukiko asked.

"For a couple minutes. Now scoot! It's my turn."

"Your turn?" Yukiko pouted, holding Roxas a bit more possessively.

"Yeah! We only have two boys in our club and Ichiro is busy." Pyra said, thumbing over to the two.

Roxas and Yukiko glanced over to see that Callie and Ichiro had started dancing with each other. It was awkwardly hilarious, but extremely adorable the way they were stumbling over each other as if neither one of them had any idea of how to dance.

"Muumuu…" Yukiko whined as she released her dance partner and stepped away.

"Quite that! Go dance with Xion or something. The night is young and you'll have plenty of time to dance later." Pyra said as she turned or Roxas and grabbed his wrists, forcing him to assume the same position he and Yukiko were in just a second ago. "I've never danced either, so show me what to do."

"I hardly know!" The nobody said, blinking a couple times.

"I realize that. It's the reason I let Yukiko teach you before cutting in."

"You're so devious!" Yukiko exclaimed from the background. She was now dancing with Xion, who looked like she had no idea what to do either. It was pretty funny to watch as Yukiko taught her the basic movements.

"So, you're really going to tell us this time? Or are you going to bail like you usually do?" Pyra asked with a teasing grin.

"…You guys need to know about it." Roxas said. "It will explain a lot of things about Xion and I."

"Well…" Pyra said, looking into his eyes. "I guess if you're really telling us, then I can let you know something about me."

"What?"

"Why I hated humans so much when I first came here."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. He actually forgot she used to be like that. Truthfully, he didn't even care about it anymore.

"It's really not as glamorous as you'd think. In fact, most hellhounds hate humans…and I would say most Devil's hate humans as well."

"Why's that?"

Pyra gave a sigh as she looked up at him. "In Hell, everything is transparent. Every vile crime the damned have committed is visible and known to everyone. After realizing that the majority of Hell's occupants are humans, it really creates a distaste for them. Especially when you see what some of them have done in order get to hell."

"Like what?"

"…Let's just say the trafficking incident would have been considered tame by comparison."

Roxas paused for just a moment before he felt his stomach turn. What happened to Yukiko was tame? It made him sick to think of what could possible be worse than someone being sold off for money. If what Pyra was saying was true, then he could see why she would be so apprehensive about humans.

"Our hatred of humans is so deep that my father didn't even want me to leave hell." Pyra continued. "If I went back to hell, there's no doubt in my mind he would never let me leave again."

"Wow…" Roxas said. Hearing that made him feel a little uncomfortable because that meant he would've never had the chance to be friends with her. She would've gone back to hell and they wouldn't have the relationship they did now. "What convinced your father to let you come here?"

"Well, that's the thing." Pyra said sheepishly. "He didn't exactly let me. I was kinda smuggled out without him knowing."

"What!?" Roxas exclaimed. "But then, what will happen if he tries to take you back to hell?"

"Don't worry about that. Other Hell hounds are not allowed in the exchange program." Pyra said proudly. "If one is caught up here without very special permission, then it will cause political problems between the humans and the residents of Hell, that includes devils and demons."

"Really?"

"Yep! Devils are usually allowed in the exchange program since they can control themselves enough to not be violent. So, if Hellhounds step out of line, it will cause trouble for them." She said. "You see what I'm getting at?"

Roxas nodded slowly. "Devils and Hellhounds share hell, so they have to cooperate. Which means if hellhounds act out, it will cause problems for everyone in hell."

"Correct!" Pyra said. "So, we can be sure that Hellhounds won't cause trouble because they'll piss off everyone else in hell if they do."

"Seems a little unfair to them." Roxas said.

"It is, but most of them understand that they wouldn't be able to control themselves in the human world. And besides, it's not like any of them want to leave." She said. "After all, most of them hate humans anyway."

"Right…"

"So now you know. It's not really that big of a reveal…and I don't think you even cared anymore, right?"

"…I didn't." Roxas said honestly. "But thanks for telling me anyway, and thanks for telling me about your father too."

"No problem…but I do have to thank you for something." Pyra said with a softer smile. "I was on the verge of going back to hell and never coming back before I met you."

"Really?"

Pyra nodded, looking away. "Everything I thought about humans was being confirmed. Kids were bullying Liminal's, my host was trying to get me deported, the parents simply ignored the issues, and my relationship with my Aunt was awkward at best. Then you came along."

"You didn't like me very much when we met." Roxas laughed, remembering there first encounter.

"Because I thought you were human! How could you expect me to trust you to not abandon me in the middle of the street?" Pyra countered, causing the both of them to laugh. "But you didn't. You put up with my attitude without so much as a complaint. You stood up for Yukiko when I tried to attack her and almost broke my wrists."

"Yeah…I probably would have if Yukiko didn't stop me." Roxas said sheepishly.

"That's when I realized you weren't exactly human." Pyra laughed. "But even though you're a Liminal, you, Bro, and Ichiro taught me that humans weren't just self-centered assholes. If not for you guys, I would have gone back to hell. I would've missed the opportunity to live with my Aunt, and I would've missed out on all the fun moments I've had with you guys."

"I'm glad I got to meet you too Pyra." Roxas said with a smile. "You and Yukiko have done more for me than you will ever know. I don't know where I would be without you two."

Pyra blinked a couple times, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. How he was able to say that so simply, she'd never know. "Geeze, if you keep saying that embarrassing shit and I might have to kiss you again to shut you up." She said, glancing away.

Now it was Roxas's turn to blush. He remembered when Pyra kissed him, even though he had his eyes closed. He still didn't quite understand the full significance of the act, nor did he understand his own reaction to it, but it seemed important to her and Yukiko. What did a Kiss really mean? Why was it important and what was it supposed to signify?

Pyra noticed how red his face was and gave a small grin. "You're adorable when you blush. It's hard to realize you killed so many traffickers just a few weeks ago." She said, patting his cheek patronizingly. "Right now, you just seem like an average, hormonal boy."

Roxas didn't know how to take that. Was it a complement? An insult? Or a combination of the two. Either way, it was totally like Pyra to talk to him like that. It was one thing he admired about her. She didn't care what others thought and wouldn't hesitate to tell people what was on her mind. If she didn't like you, she let you know. If she liked you, she would tease you relentlessly.

Roxas winced again as his persistent headache pulsed in his brain. It lasted for a few good seconds before going away again.

"You ok?"

"Yeah…this headache won't go away." Roxas said, clenching his eyes closed and opening them a few times.

"You're probably just tired. We could all use a good break after the festival."

"Well, it's a good thing we have one." Roxas responded, looking forward to a small, two-day vacation after the festival was over. "We need to make plans to hang out with everyone."

"Damn straight!" Pyra said, pulling herself close and resting the side of her face on his shoulder. He simply held onto her as they let the music flow through them.

* * *

The rest of the celebration went off pleasantly. Roxas danced with Xion and Callie while Ichiro had his turn with everyone else. There conversations were much more casual, but that was expected.

The main issue however was the fact that Roxas's headache was getting worse and worse. By the time the festival party was over and everything was cleaned up, the poor nobody could barely walk straight.

In fact, as Yukiko, Pyra, Xion, and Roxas were walking back to Polt's house, Roxas was constantly rubbing his forehead and swaying from left to right. At his side, Yukiko was steadying him to make sure he didn't fall over.

"Seriously Roxas, you're starting to worry me." Yukiko said, looking over at her friend with concern.

"Yeah…Maybe you should just head home and go to bed early." Pyra agreed. "I can let Auntie know you won't be stopping by."

Roxas rubbed his forehead again as another painful pulse slammed against his brain. "Yeah…I think that's a good id-"

Suddenly, Roxas's vison swam. He stopped walking as the world started spinning. Whatever was attacking his brain suddenly increased ten-fold.

Everyone else stopped as they looked at the boy in concern. Yukiko felt the weight on her shoulder increase as the Nobodies legs slowly started to give out.

"Roxas? Hey Roxas!" Yukiko exclaimed as she placed a hand on his chest to steady him. He was starting to lean forward as the assault on his brain continued.

"Roxas! What's wrong?" Xion asked, moving a bit closer to look into his eyes. They glazed over before rolling into the back of his head. His body crumpled to the ground before anyone could stop it.

"ROXAS!"

* * *

 **Authors Note: This chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, but I realized how difficult it was trying to bust out 10k+ word chapters, so I trimmed it down a bit. If I didn't, you probably wouldn't see this chapter for another month or two. Anyway, big stuff happening in the next few chapters. These past two chapters didn't really push the story along much, but trust me, the next two chapters will. So, look forward to it.**

 **If you liked the chapter, please let me know! Thanks!**


	23. Chapter 23 : Day 57 - 64

**Authors Note: Hello! I'm back! I know how much everyone doesn't like cliffhangers, so I tried to get this chapter out a bit faster. I really want to finish this story since I lost inspiration for some of my other ones. It's a bummer when you literally cannot coherently form a sentence for a story you once enjoyed writing. Anyway, please enjoy the chapter**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 23

Day 57 - 64

Darkness.

That's all Roxas knew as his eyes slowly opened. The blackest void, so dark that not even a shred of light could break through. The nobody didn't know what was going on. One moment, he was walking home with his friends, and the next he found himself falling through the void as if he were sinking into the depts of the ocean.

His head didn't feel like it was trying to contain an explosion anymore, so he attempted to turn around in the darkness to see if he could spot anything.

Luckily, he could. In fact, he was falling towards a certain platform that was suspended in the void of nothingness. Slowly, he was drawing nearer as he continued to fall. For some reason, this entire situation felt extremely familiar to him.

"Where…" Roxas started to say before he realized something. He knew exactly where he was.

The Dive to Heart. A physical manifestation of the inner depts of one's heart. Sora came here a few times before he became the Keyblade master…but what was Roxas doing here? He had never been here before.

The mural was drawing closer and Roxas was finally able to make out the image. His eyes widened when he realized it was of him and his friends.

Yukiko was on the upper right side with Pyra next to her. Xion and Axel were on the upper left facing away from each other. Miia, Centorea, Papi, and Mero were on the lower left all clustered together while Kimihito and Suu were on the lower right. Lastly was of him right in the middle, wearing the Organization 13 coat with the kingdom key in his left hand. Right on the middle of his chest, there was the symbol of the Nobodies.

The last thing that caught Roxas's eye as he continued falling was the two other people in the mural. Both of them were behind him a bit in the distance with their backs turned. One was on his right side, had spikey brown hair and dark black clothing with the kingdom key in his hand. Even though the boy wasn't facing Roxas, it was easy to tell it was Sora.

However, the other person confused the Nobody.

The last person on his left had spikey blond hair and a back-handed Keyblade that Roxas had never seen before. The most confusing part was that the person looked exactly like Roxas from the back side. While he wore different clothing, the resemblance to himself was uncanny. Why would his mural show himself twice like that?

What did this mean? Why was he here? How was it possible for him to be in the Dive to Heart?

Roxas's decent to the platform continued before slowing dramatically to the point where he could plant his feet on the mural. Pausing for just a moment, he gazed around the darkness, still not seeing anything. His mind swam with questions, but there were no answers.

Instead of just standing there in confusion, Roxas walked to the edge of the platform and looked out into the abyss, still not seeing anything else besides his lone tower.

That was until another tower suddenly appeared off in the distance. He squinted his eyes, trying to see what was on it since it was a little shorter than his tower. But it was too far for him to fully see what was on the mural.

"What's going on here?" Roxas asked himself, taking a couple steps away from the edge. "Why am I here? What's that tower off in the distance?"

As if answering his question, a staircase of stained glass appeared next to him, spiraling and swerving itself to the next platform.

The nobody paused for a few seconds, but there must be a reason this platform appeared. After all, he remembered Sora fearlessly followed his trail of stained glass when he visited the Dive to Heart before he got the Keyblade. So Roxas followed it, walking carefully along the trail to the next platform.

When he got closer, he was able to see that no one was on the next platform, but he was able to make out what was on the mural.

"What…who are these people?" he whispered as he stopped in the middle of the stained-glass trail.

What he saw didn't make any sense. There were three people on the mural, but he only recognized one of them.

Himself…or what looked like himself. First of all, the person in the middle was him again…but with the back-handed Keyblade. The same Keyblade he saw grasped in the hand of the person in his own Mural.

The two other people were strangers…or so he thought. When he saw their faces, the nobody felt like he knew them for some reason.

There was a woman and a man in the mural, both had different Keyblades in their hands. The woman had blue hair and sharp blue eyes, while the male had spiky brown hair and a stern face. A sudden feeling of comradery began to bloom in his chest when he took in their features. The strangest part was he could feel their names on the tip of his tongue, ready to burst from his lips.

"Who are they?" Roxas asked himself as he continued walking along the stained glass. He found himself on the large platform, looking down at the beautiful picture of the strange trio of people. Why were they here in the Dive to Heart? Wasn't this supposed to be the manifestation of his heart? If that was so, then why was this here?

"Well…this certainly is surprising…"

Roxas jumped in surprise as he turned around to see someone standing there behind him. How? There was no one on the platform when he got there. Where did this guy come from?

As the nobody took in this person's features, he was again confused because he had never seen this person before. The figure wore all black with red lining on the chest and wrists, very similar to Riku when he entered his darkness mode. The person was wearing a black helmet that completely concealed his face from view. Grasped in his hand was a very recognizable weapon, though Roxas had never seen one quite like it before.

"A Keyblade!" Roxas exclaimed. "Who are you!?"

The figured laughed a maniacal and cruel laugh. "You should know who I am Ventus…"

"Ventus?" Roxas asked, his face courted in confusion.

"Huh, just as I thought. You don't remember anything at all. I guess I should've known though…because you're not really Ventus, are you?" The figure said.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Roxas demanded.

"Who I am is not important. But what is important is...you. Your existence is truly a marvel, one that only occurred due to some very interesting circumstances. But that does make me wonder…"

Roxas was still baffled he was having a conversation with someone in the Dive to Heart. None of this made any sense at all. How did this person get here? Who was he? What was he talking about? Did…Did he know something about Roxas?

"What circumstances? Do you know who I am? Who I was?" Roxas asked curiously. "Who are you?"

It was as if the person didn't even hear what he said. Instead, he glanced down at his own Keyblade as if deep in thought. Finally, he looked back up at the nobody and let out a dark chuckle.

"Now I'm curious. I'm curious to find out what would happen if you were to disappear."

"What?"

"You look exactly like Ventus, even though you are the Nobody of the person who houses his heart. Does that mean you are also the nobody of Ventus? Do you have his heart within yourself?"

Now Roxas was completely confused. Who was Ventus? Why was this guy talking about him?

"It makes me wonder…If I destroy you now, would Ventus wake up? Would Ventus be free? Would I have another chance?"

Roxas noticed how the body posture of this stranger changed to one of hostility. The ominous keyable was raised, as if ready to strike. Was this person going to attack? Why?

Without warning, the figure launched forward, swinging his Keyblade at Roxas with immense speed. Roxas was barely able to dodge at the last second, rolling over his shoulder and summoning the kingdom key to his hand, only to raise it to deflect another strike at his neck.

"Who are you?! Did you call me here?" Roxas demanded, shoving the person back and getting a bit of distance between himself and the stranger.

"Call you here? No, I didn't do that." The figure said with unnerving glee. "But I can't let this opportunity go to waste. You and Ventus are connected somehow and if I can destroy you here, then Ventus might wake up…and he will finally be mine!"

Roxas had no idea what this guy was talking about, but he wasn't about to roll over and let him win. The nobody crouched down in his signature stance and prepared for a fight.

"Alright…You asked for it!" Roxas said as he and the stranger attacked each other.

* * *

An entire week…This wasn't what anyone expected when Roxas said he would be gone for a few days. The fact that he didn't go anywhere was most concerning. Currently, he way laying on his bed back at Kimihito's house like a vegetable.

When Roxas first collapsed, everyone panicked and dragged his lifeless body to Kimihito's. An ambulance was called shortly afterwards to take him to the hospital. However, the real problem occurred when no one could figure out what was wrong. No matter what they did, he simply wouldn't wake up. No scans, x-rays, tests, or anything produced results. It was as if he were simply sleeping…only he couldn't be woken up. Even his brain activity was normal, so he wasn't in a regular coma.

It completely perplexed doctors, but after running tests all day they had nothing else to say. Instead, they thought it would be best if they stuck an IV in his arm to keep up his fluids and send him home. Staying in the hospital bed would have racked up unnecessary bills that the government would be reluctant to pay.

That was why Roxas was currently back at the Kurusu residence, laying on his bed with an IV stuck in his arm. Kimihito was working diligently in watching over him. When he realized that Roxas was in some kind of unexplained coma, he was prepared to clean him up when he…had an accident. But during the entire week, his bodily functions seemed to have completely halted. He didn't soil himself once, heck Kimihito didn't even need to replace the IV bag the entire week. It was like his body was frozen in time. That fact that he was still breathing was the only evidence he was still alive.

Again, it baffled everyone because something like this was impossible.

Speaking of everyone, they were worried sick. Every day, Yukiko and Pyra would stop by and see how he was doing. They usually stayed over for dinner, which was nice, but with everyone so worried, it wasn't that enjoyable.

For a full week it had been like this. While they didn't have school on Monday and Tuesday because of the festival occurred the weekend before, Roxas missed three days. For those three days, Mrs. Kitsuna kept asking how Roxas was doing and every day it was a reminder that he wasn't awake yet. Ichiro and Callie also expressed their worries, always asking if anything changed in his condition.

Nothing did.

Currently, it was Sunday morning when Xion was about to make her way to Polt's house to pick up Yukiko and Pyra. Polt was extremely busy at the sports club, as it was busiest during the weekend. This meant Yukiko and Pyra were left at the house for the entire day, unless they decided to give Polt a hand at the club.

Before leaving, Xion went to check on Roxas to see if anything changed throughout the, but nothing had. He continued to lay on his bed like a statue. She did notice Suu in his room, her main feeling attached to his forehead, but after a couple seconds, a sad look crossed her face and she detached her feeler.

"What are you doing Suu?" Xion asked. She had seen Suu do that a few times during the week, but had never asked before.

Suu glanced over at the puppet, her expression one of complete misery and concern. "Ah…Suu is usually able to see what Roxas is dreaming about…but Suu can't anymore." She said sadly.

The news that Suu could see Roxas's dreams wasn't new to Xion. However, the fact that the slime couldn't see anything right now was just another thing to worry about.

The young puppet was extremely worried about Roxas. She didn't know what was going on, but she had a feeling that something serious happened. At first, she thought it might have something to do with being a nobody, but after asking Axel about it, she realized it was not the case. Axel told her that nobodies weren't prone to random sleeping spells like this.

Then again, Roxas was a special case when it came to the nobodies.

"Say Suu…" Xion said, getting the Slime to look over at her. "I'm going to go bring Yukiko and Pyra over. You want to come?"

A slight smile crossed Suu's lips as she nodded her head.

That's when Xion found herself walking with Suu to Polt's house to pick up her friends. Ever since Roxas had fallen into a coma, the puppet realized things felt different. Yukiko was less enthusiastic, Pyra was less playful, and Suu was less cheerful. It was like an atmosphere of worry and concern constantly followed them wherever they went.

And she didn't like it.

"Roxas…please wake up soon." She whispered as they finally made it to Polt's house. "We miss you…"

There was very little said between Pyra, Yukiko, Xion, and Suu as they made their way to Kimihito's house. It just wasn't really fun when you had to constantly worry if one of your friends would wake from a coma or not. Despite this, Yukiko tried to make cheerful conversation about a few topics. Whether it was a manga she recently read, a tv show she watched, or even recent news concerning her own family.

It was nice listening to Yukiko talk with such fondness about them. Neither Pyra, Xion, or Suu could relate because none of them had a solid family history. A hot topic in the Yeti's family right now was the news that her mother was pregnant again.

When Yukiko went back to be with her family a few weeks ago, her parent broke the news that she would be an older sister again. They didn't know the gender yet, but the young Yeti guessed it was probably going to be another girl. Girls Yeti's were born much more often than males.

Xion listened intently because she didn't know much about the construct of a family. She saw them everywhere she went on this world, but didn't quite grasp the importance yet. Seeing Yukiko talk so happily about them convinced the puppet it was something special.

Yukiko expressed her excitement about having another sibling in the family and laughed at her parents because they would have to endure the dreaded baby phase again. During the time it took to reach Kimihito's house, she prattled on and on about her family and how eager they were to meet her friends. She even mentioned at how her parents were acting a little suspicious, like they were planning on it happening sooner than later.

Eventually, they reached the Kurusu Residence, said hi to Kimihito and Miia, and made their way to Roxas's room to hang out like they usually did since he fell asleep. They hoped that one day, he would wake up and they would be right there for him.

However, when they pushed open his door, they saw someone already standing there, looking down at the Nobody with a serious gaze in her eyes. She had white hair, a black cloak with a white skirt and a black scarf. In her hand was clenched a bitch-black Scythe.

Instantly, Pyra rushed into the room, glaring at the woman before glancing down at Roxas. She scanned him over once, making sure the woman didn't do anything to him.

"What are you doing in here, Lala?"

The Dullahan reaper turned around, her scythe clenched harder in her hands as she gave the three of them an emotionless look.

"This creature…should not be allowed to exist. It confuses me that you continue to foil my duty as guide to the afterlife."

"Don't you dare do anything to him Lala!" Yukiko hissed. "I don't care what you think or say about him. You're not taking him anywhere!"

* * *

FLASHBACK

Yukiko was panicking. Roxas had collapsed in the middle of the street and she, Pyra, and Xion were forced to drag his body back to the Kurusu Residence. They had no idea what was going on, only that he would not wake up no matter what they did. The only option was to drag him back home and have Kimihito call and ambulance.

Eventually they made it home and flung open the door.

"BIG BRO!" Yukiko screamed. "We need help!"

Instantly, Kimihito was running out from the kitchen and in their direction. He took one look at Roxas's lifeless body as both his arms were slung over Xion and Yukiko. His eyes widened in horror when he saw how panicked everyone was.

"What happened!?" he yelled, immediately rushing over to the nobody and checking his pulse.

"We-We don't know! He just collapsed!" Yukiko said frantically, tears running down her face.

"You're wasting your time checking his vitals Bro!" Pyra hissed. "We already did it. It's like he's sleeping, but he won't wake up!"

"I'll call an ambulance." He said, turning around and rushing out of the entryway, nearly slamming into an unfamiliar individual who got curious because of the commotion. "Oh, sorry about that Lala."

The three kids looked up to see a new person standing there. She wore dark clothing, had black eyes with yellow irises, white hair, and pale blue skin. She had an emotionless look on her face and a scythe in her hands.

She looked freaky, like Halloween had come early.

"What the hell!?" Pyra exclaimed.

"Who are you!?" Yukiko said, holding Roxas to keep him from falling over.

"Who I am is not important. What matters is that I sense there are people here who are not supposed to be in this realm." The woman said, looking over at the four individuals.

"What the hell is a Dullahan doing here?" Pyra hissed, glaring at the woman.

"A Dullahan?" Yukiko asked, looking over at the woman with wide eyes. "You mean headless reapers? Monsters that lead others to the afterlife?"

Pyra nodded as she continued to growl at the woman. "I have seen a few in my lifetime, but they are very rare and are said to only show up when someone is on the verge of death."

Immediately, Yukiko panicked as she looked at the limp form of Roxas in her hands. "You don't mean…"

"Are you here for Roxas?" Pyra growled. "Because if you are, I will stop you."

"What are you prattling on about?" The Dullahan asked. "I was here for Kimihito since he is always on the verge of death…however." Her gaze turned to Roxas and Xion, clenching her Scythe more tightly in her hands. "Those two have now caught my interest."

Yukiko and Pyra looked between Roxas and Xion a few times in confusion. "What do you mean? Roxas is the only one unconscious. Why are you interested in Xion too?" Asked Yukiko.

"I have never seen anything quite like you before." Lala said, pointing to Xion. "From what I can sense…the best way to describe you would be…a puppet. It's curious as to how a creation such as yourself is…developing that which only exists in people. How is that possible?"

That was a confusing statement for everyone in the room. Yukiko and Pyra glanced over at the mutual friend with raised eyebrows.

"A Puppet?" Yukiko asked.

Hearing the words coming out of Lala's mouth really sent Xion into a panic. How did this creature know? What was she talking about? What was Xion developing which only people had? She wasn't a person, she was a puppet.

"But even more concerning…how is it that a Nothing such as that…" She pointed to Roxas. "How is it possible for that…thing to develop the same way? To acquire something that should only belong to that of the living."

"Roxas?" Yukiko asked, looking at the boy. "What do you mean? Why are you calling Roxas that?"

Xion was even more panicked than before. How did this creature know Roxas was a nobody? Just who was she? How was she able to sense this?

"This cannot stand…" Lala said, grasping her scythe in both hands. "I must return balance and destroy the thing that was never supposed to exist."

"What the HELL! Stop!" Pyra screamed as she realized the Dullahan was about to attack. Lala was readying her scythe before webs suddenly sprung out of nowhere and wrapped themselves tightly around the Dullahan's body. Instantly, the headless reaper dropped the Scythe as her entire body was tied in a rather seductive position.

"…What just happened?" Xion asked.

"That's what I should be asking! What happened to Roxas?" Another voice said as a person appeared from the kitchen.

"Rachnee!" Yukiko exclaimed.

"Well, are you going to answer me?" Rachnera said as she gave a small tug on the webs in her right hand. Lala gave an erotic squeal as a result.

FLASHBACK END

* * *

"You simply do not understand. If this thing continues to exist, the one who truly should exist will not be restored. It should've never happened and must be set right."

"Do I need to get Rachnee to come out of the attic?" Pyra threatened.

Though it was hard to tell, there was a tinge of fear that creeped across Lala's face at the mention of the spider woman. She lowered her Scythe as a result. "I will retreat for now. But eventually, the power this thing has stolen must be restored to its proper place. If you continue to delay the inevitable, this Nothing will continue to develop…and restoring the one who was lost will no longer be possible." She finished as she brushed past them and exited the room.

"We really need to keep an eye on her." Yukiko said with distain. "I can't believe she keeps calling Roxas a thing. What does she think Roxas is anyway?"

"I don't know." Pyra said. "But it sounds like she knows more about it…like she actually knows what Roxas is."

"…" Xion didn't say anything. After all, how was she supposed to explain what Roxas was. She didn't want to do that without his permission, especially when he said he would reveal it when he got back.

"It was also weird what she said about you Xion." Yukiko brought up, catching the girl's attention.

"You mean when she called me a puppet?"

Both Pyra and Yukiko nodded.

"What did she mean?"

"Um…"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask all week long" Pyra said. "Do you know what she's talking about?"

Xion looked away, but it was clear from the look on her face that she knew exactly what Lala meant.

"You do know!" Yukiko said, her eyes widening. "What was she talking about? What did she mean when she called you a puppet?"

Licking her lips, Xion really wished Roxas was awake right now. She would feel so much more comfortable if he were here to help her explain it.

"ROXAS!"

Everyone jumped in fright at the sudden scream and turned to see Suu standing at the front of Roxas's bed with her main feeler attached to his head.

"Suu, what's going on!" Pyra asked.

"Suu sees him! Suu sees Roxas! Suu can see him again!" Suu said, excitement and relief clear in her voice.

"What!? How?" Yukiko asked.

"Suu has always been able to see Roxas's dreams." Suu said, her voice ecstatic.

"Yeah…I remember you saying that a while back." Pyra said, scratching her chin.

Suu was nearly jumping up and down with excitement with her feeler still attached to Roxas's head. However, her expression changed from elated to terrified in the blink of an eye. "Oh no…"

"What? What's wrong?" Xion asked.

"Roxas is in trouble! He's fighting!"

"What do you mean he's fighting? He's right here!" Pyra said, getting a little worried by the sheer terror on Suu's face.

"I don't know! Suu's never seen this person before." She said. "He's fighting…in the Dive to Heart!"

"What's that mean?" Yukiko asked. She was also feeling a little panicked by the way Suu was acting. She glanced over at Pyra and Xion, but they didn't look like they had a clue either.

"Suu, can you let us see it?" Pyra asked.

Suu looked over at her curiously.

"Can Suu do that?" Yukiko asked.

"I think so." Pyra said, scrunching her face and trying to think back to the first time she spent the night at Kimihito's. She remembered having a dream about Roxas that night and how strangely clear it was. She thought about that dream a few times and wondered why it stuck with her. After hearing what Suu could do, she was curious if the dream happened because Suu had her feeler attached to her head when she was sleeping next to Roxas.

"Suu…think's she can do it…but if she does…What will happen to you?" Suu said with a little worry.

"What do you mean?" Pyra asked.

"Suu doesn't know why Roxas won't wake up. What if…what if Suu let's Everyone see his dreams…and they don't wake up either." Suu said, sounding very unsure. "Suu doesn't want her friends to never wake up again."

That caused everyone to hesitate a bit. They still didn't know why Roxas was like this. What if whatever was happening to him wasn't physical at all. What if it was all in his mind, and by connecting there minds together, the same thing might happen to them too.

"I'll do it!" Yukiko announced, walking over to Roxas's bed.

"Yukiko…what if something happens?" Pyra asked.

"Roxas didn't hesitate when he wanted to save me." Yukiko said, determination in her voice. "If he's in trouble, I want to be the one to help this time." She finished as she crawled onto his bed and situated herself on his right side, resting her head on his shoulder. "If Suu can let me see what's going on, it might give us a hint as to how to wake him up…"

Xion and Pyra glanced between each other before Pyra gave a small laugh. "I guess so huh? Roxas wouldn't hesitate to help any of us, so why should we?"

Xion nodded in agreement as they moved over to his bed. Pyra crawled onto his left side and rested her head on his shoulder while Xion paused for a moment, wondering where she should lay down. The bed was pretty much taken up by the three bodies. The conclusion she came to was to simply craw right on top of the nobody and rest her head on his chest.

"Comfortable?" Pyra asked with a grin.

Xion blushed a little because it was a little comforting to hear his heartbeat in her ear. "There was no other place."

"…Not going to worry about that right now." Yukiko said with a small tone of jealousy in her voice. "Connect us Suu. Let's see what's going on inside Roxas's head."

Suu nodded from the front of the bed. Her main feeler pulled away from the Nobody and separated into four individual feelers. They connected to Xion, Pyra, and Yukiko before the last feeler connected to the top of Roxas's head.

For the first few seconds, nothing happened. Each of the three girls wondered how this experience was going to work. However, none of them expected to fall into complete darkness.

* * *

Roxas grit his teeth as he blocked a series of slashes and swipes from the enemy. This guy was good. In his entire existence, he'd never faced someone so strong. Not even members of organization 13 could match against his persons strength. The stranger never let up on his attacks, never gave Roxas the chance to compose himself, and even had an arsenal of magic spells that seemed more powerful than the Nobodies.

Roxas was barely able to deflect a new attack aimed as his chest. As he tried to get a bit of distance between them, the person appeared right in front of him again, slashing downward at his shoulder, which the Nobody barely dodged. Every direction he took, his opponent was right in front of him, ready to attack again.

Roxas swiped upward after flipping over his shoulder, but his enemy leaned back before attacking again. This time it connected painfully against the Nobodies shoulder and sent him rolling along the platform.

From his downed position, Roxas aimed his Keyblade and summoned his magic.

"FIRAGA!"

Flames exploded from the tip of his Keyblade, but it molded around the shield spell his attacker cast. Using the fire as cover, Roxas jumped to his feet and rushed through the flames, hoping to catch his enemy off guard. It was easy to tell that whoever he was fighting had more experience because the person didn't look fazed when the Nobody emerged from the fire with an attack prepared. He simply parried the move, spinning around, and slamming his weapon into Roxas's gut.

It connected and Roxas was sent flying again, crashing onto his back and groaning in pain. The Keyblade dropped from his grasp before vanishing in a flash of light. The Nobody didn't know how long he'd been fighting this person, but it felt like hours. He was exhausted and sweat was pouring off his body. His magic reserves were completely empty and for the first time in a while, Roxas felt completely and utterly outclassed.

In his time with the Organization, Roxas managed to give the other members a work out, but this person didn't seem to even break a sweat. It didn't look like he took the fight seriously at all. Just who was he?

The person with the helmet shook his head in disappointment. "Just like always. So weak. You never could do anything on your own Ventus, always relying on your friends to pull your ass out of the fire. Without them…" he said, walking up to Roxas. "You can't do anything."

The Nobody slowly tried to sit up, only to notice his enemy standing right in front of him, the black Keyblade raised high in the air. The sheer amount of power behind that strike would obliterate him and Roxas knew it. The nobody knew he had to do something. It couldn't end like this. There was so much he still wanted to do with his life, so much time he wanted to spend with his friends. He couldn't die here!

"There's nothing wrong with that!" A new voice suddenly shouted.

A whirling Keyblade suddenly appeared out of the darkness, spinning like a glowing disk before slamming straight into the person's back. The stranger flew over Roxas before correcting himself in the air and landing on his feet. He then turned to whoever threw the weapon.

Roxas's eyes widened when he saw a familiar person with spiky brown hair. He was wearing a different outfit than before, this one consisting of darker clothing with lots of black and yellow. The young boy reached out his hand as the kingdom key whirled through the air and slammed into his palm.

"Sora!" Roxas said in amazement and confusion. "How?"

"That's what I want to ask." Sora said, gripping they Keyblade in his hands, watching the enemy. "Why are you here? Who is this guy?"

"I…don't know. He just attacked me and…He's really strong." Roxas grunted as he pushed himself to his feet. This was all to confusing. Why was Sora here? How did he get here?

Sora narrowed his eyes at the strange person in the black and red. His clothing looked a lot like Riku's when he used the powers of darkness, but this was more potent. Much more potent.

"Let's fight together then." Sora said, pointing the Keyblade at Roxas. "Cura."

A green light enveloped Roxas as he found his strength returning. His magic was still depleted, but at least he could fight now. Nodding his head in agreement, the Nobody crouched down in the exact same position as Sora, Keyblade in hand.

The enemy stared at them for a few moments before easing out of his offensive position. His body started to shake and cruel laughter erupted from his mouth. It was a laugh with so much mirth and evil that it sent chills down the two boy's spins.

"Just like I said, you can't do anything on your own Ventus."

"Stop calling me that! My name is Roxas!" Roxas growled.

"For now." The person said as he lowered his Keyblade. "Unfortunately, I don't think I can hurt Sora without hurting Ventus, so we'll have to put this on hold. But watch yourself…Roxas…because if I ever get the opportunity again, I will destroy you. Then maybe…just maybe I will be finally free."

He laughed again before suddenly disappearing into nothingness.

"…This is crazy!" Sora exclaimed, lowering the Keyblade and turning to Roxas. "What is going on here? Who was that?"

"I don't know." Roxas said. "How did you get here? Where did you come from?"

Sora blinked his eyes a few times before he turned and pointed off into the distance. Roxas followed his gaze before he saw a different trail of stained glass that lead to another tower. It wasn't the one he appeared on.

"I…I don't know how I got there, but when I woke up, I was on that pillar over there." Sora said, looking back at Roxas. "I saw the trail of Stained glass and I followed it. That's when I found you fighting…whoever that was. What about you? What are you doing here?"

"I had a headache all day and…The next thing I knew, I was over there." Roxas said, pointing to the other trail of stained glass that lead to the tower he appeared on. "What do you think is going on? It doesn't make any sense to me."

Sora paused as he assumed his thinking pose, scratching his chin and cocking his head to the side. After a few moments, his countenance suddenly dropped as he realized something. He closed his eyes and gripped his hair.

"What's wrong Sora?" Roxas asked, looking at his fellow Keyblade wielder curiously.

"I…think I know what's going on…"

"Huh? You do?"

Sora licked his lips nervously as he turned to the Nobody. "Recently, we discovered the HQ of organization 13. I ran into one of the members…and I got destroyed."

Roxas's eyes widened in horror. "They attacked you? Why? Why would they do that?"

"Because I wanted to confront them about their plan…I thought I was strong enough to take them on, but Axel was right." Sora said his countenance dropping. "I didn't stand a chance and that last thing I remember is the King coming to my defense. I passed out soon after that…and when I woke up, I found myself over there…" He pointed to the platform he appeared on again. "The next think I knew, I found a path that lead to here…that's when I found you fighting that guy." Sora said, scratching his head in confusion. "I just don't get it. This has never happened to me when I came here before."

"Yeah…and that doesn't explain why I'm here either." Roxas concluded carefully, but deep down inside, he had a theory. It was an idea that he had a while ago, but didn't think to dwell on it because it didn't make any sense. After all, Sora wasn't a heartless.

But now that Sora was standing right in front of him in the Dive to Heart, maybe there was more truth to his theory that he thought. Based on the way Sora was looking at him, they might have reached a similar conclusion.

"Let's go back to my platform. I don't know why, but standing here just doesn't…fell right." Sora said.

Roxas nodded in agreement as he followed Sora onto the stained-glass pathway that lead back to Sora's tower. There was an awkward silence for a few moments until the brown-haired Keyblade wielder gave a sigh.

"Roxas…"

"Yeah?"

"…I think we both know why you were affected by my defeat…and why you're here now."

Roxas stopped walking and Sora turned to look at him, a sad gaze in his eyes.

"Yeah…I had a feeling, but didn't think it was possible. I mean, you're not a Heartless." Roxas said with a somber smile. "I'm your Nobody, aren't I?"

Sora laughed bitterly, turning away from his Nobody and starting to walk again. "I should have known right when I met you. It was like I'd known you for my entire life. It's funny huh? Because you are literally me."

"Yeah…" Roxas said. "Just a shell of you."

"But that's not entirely true either." Sora said as they finally reached the platform. "For a little while now, I've been able to see your life through my dreams…just like you were able to see my life, right?"

"It's how I knew your name…and how I knew about you when we first met." Roxas confirmed. "I didn't know how to explain it to you back then, so I didn't mention it."

Sora chuckled as he placed his hands behind his head. "I totally understand that. After all, I didn't know how to explain that I could see your life through my dreams to Donald, Goofy, Or Naminé. So, I didn't. The only one I mentioned it to was Yen Sid after I sent you that little message about wanting to meet."

The two shared an awkward laugh. "You turned into a heartless when you saved Kairi…That's when I was created, right? It makes so much sense now that I think about it. It also explains why I can't remember anything from before I was a Nobody. It's because you were restored and took all your memories with you."

"Yeah…" Sora said, pursing his lips. "Roxas, there's something else you should know."

"What?"

"I main reason I attacked Organization 13 HQ was to see if I could fight them with the power I currently have…but I failed."

"The power you currently have? What does that mean?"

Sora clenched his eyes closed, as if his current thought process was against his very moral code.

"What's wrong Sora?"

"…I don't know how to say this Roxas…but when I became a heartless and you were created as my Nobody, you took half of my power with you…"

"Half of your power?"

"Yeah. When a person loses their heart, half their power goes to the heartless, while the other goes to the Nobody. Since I was restored, I took the half from my heartless…but you took the rest."

Slowly, Roxas was starting to understand what Sora was getting at. A pit of despair was forming in his stomach. "So, you tried to fight Organization 13 with only half your power?"

"I…I had to try and see if I was strong enough. I couldn't…"

"Couldn't what?" Roxas asked, though he had a hunch as to what Sora was going to say next.

"I couldn't listen to Yen Sid's suggestion…or Diz's…"

"Sora…" Roxas said, looking the boy in the face. "Just spit it out."

"Well, After I told Yen Sid about my dreams of you…He mentioned the possibility that you were my Nobody. And he told me that the only way to fully restore someone is to defeat there heartless and destroy their Nobody. Then the person would fully be restored."

"But since you've already returned…" Roxas said, connecting the dots. His eyes widened in horror at first, but then dropped in sadness.

"Yeah, you would have to disappear for my power to return…" Sora said, closing his eyes in sadness. Just saying it out loud made the brown-haired boy want to puke.

"…Diz and Yen Sid suggested I be destroyed?" Roxas asked, pursing his lips.

Sora nodded once again. "I just can't do it though. I had to see if I could defeat Organization 13 without you, but the one I fought…he was so powerful. He defeated me so badly that…Well…Here I am. I don't know how long it's been, but it must have been pretty bad if I ended up here."

"So, what will you do now?" Roxas asked cautiously.

"…I don't know!" Sora responded, pacing back and forward comedically. "We need to stop Organization 13. They're destroying the worlds Roxas, but I'm not strong enough! The king and Riku had to save me. I…I didn't think I was that weak!"

There it was. A single fact that Roxas was ignoring the whole time he hid on his world. Since he left, the Organization was flooding the worlds with heartless. Just how many have fallen because he continued to hide? While he went to school and had fun with his friends, Sora was busting his ass at half power fighting them. Not only that, but Sora tried to fight Organization 13 on his own, only to fail because Roxas stole half his power.

Was it time to give it back? Was that the only solution?

"What can I do Sora?" Roxas asked. "How can I help? Can I help fight, or do I…Do I need to disappear?"

Sora stopped cold and turned to his Nobody, his eyes wide in horror. "Who-NO!" Sora exclaimed, surprising the Nobody. "Why would I ever ask you do to that? You aren't just my Nobody Roxas, you are your own person. I know that because I've seen your life. I've seen the people who you connect with. I've seen the people who you care about. You aren't just an empty shell that needs to be destroyed. You're real!"

Roxas blinked a couple times in amazement. Even faced with pressure from Diz and the famous wizard Yen Sid, Sora still wouldn't do something like that. It just spoke volumes about his character, about who Sora really was.

"Then what do we do?"

"For now, I need to train…Hard." Sora said. "I need to get back the power I lost when I turned into a heartless."

"What about me? What can I do?" Roxas asked. "I can use the corridor of darkness to travel to words and defeat the heartless too."

Sora scrunched her eyebrows. "Roxas, you have a life though. You have friends. What about them? Won't they miss you?"

Roxas bit his lower lip. Leaving his world, his school, his friends, and everything he come to love was the last thing he wanted to do. But if this continued, the darkness might reach his world. Everything he cared about would be in danger.

"I would miss them…I would miss them so much." Roxas admitted. "But can I hide while worlds fall?"

"That's my problem Roxas." Sora said. "I will keep the world from falling into Darkness and use that as my training. However, once I feel like I'm strong enough to take on Organization 13 again, I will probably ask for your help."

"I can't do any more than that?"

Sora shook his head. "I couldn't ask you too. You didn't ask to be a wielder of the Keyblade. You didn't ask to be my Nobody. If anything, I just want you to live your own life."

Roxas frowned. "…You didn't ask to wield the Keyblade either."

"Well…No, but I was chosen too." Sora said firmly. "And now it's my responsibility to save the worlds."

Roxas felt really uncomfortable because he felt like he was doing nothing while people around him suffered. "If I cannot do anything else, then I will train with everything I have. When you face Organization 13 again, please contact me. I will fight with you…in fact, if you need anything, promise to ask me for help. After all, you know how to reach me."

Sora paused for a few moments before laughing joyously. "I promise! But I also know you are your own person Roxas. You have your own life and I can't force you into my responsibility."

"Well…Technically I am you." Roxas laughed alongside Sora. "So, we can both take on that responsibility."

They laughed for a couple moments. The nobody felt a large weight lift off his chest as he talked with his Somebody. The one thing he was afraid of was disappearing into nonexistence, but Sora didn't want that. If anything, Sora didn't even want him involved beyond helping with Organization 13.

That Roxas could gladly do. After all, Sora was sacrificing half of his power in order to keep him from having to fade away.

"Now that we have that all settled, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah?"

"About what happened when you killed those traffickers." Sora said, the atmosphere changing instantly.

Roxas sighed. "So, you saw that too…"

"I did. I'm not here to ridicule you…because I would do anything to protect my friends as well. Killing other people…well maybe I wouldn't go that far…but I do understand why you did it. I just wanted to ask if you needed someone to talk to." He said with a smile. "After all, there is no one who would understand you like…yourself, right?"

"…Sure." Roxas said with a laugh. The Nobody didn't know how long he was going to be stuck here, so talking with someone would be a nice way to pass the time.

Especially if that someone was his Somebody.

* * *

This was beyond anything she could comprehend. Pyra didn't know what to expect when Suu connected their minds to Roxas. Maybe a flood of memories, or even a dream where she could see what Roxas was seeing. Instead, a few seconds after Suu connected her gelatinous feeler to the Hellhounds head, she felt as if she were sinking to the bottom of one of her Aunties pools.

Darkness surrounded her as she, Yukiko, Suu, and Xion descended into the void. What kind of dream was this where there was literally nothing. Nothing but the abyss of darkness.

Turning over, the Hellhound did in fact see something in the distance. A tower with a beautiful Mural painted on top. Again, it confused her as to why this dream felt so realistic, almost as if she was physically there. And what was this mural supposed to represent? She recognized every single person on the mural except for the person behind Roxas with his back turned. A person with spikey brown hair.

After a few more minutes, she was able to touch down on the platform, looking around to see the rest of her friends doing so as well. Her gazed drifted around and the expansive void of nothingness.

"What is this?" Pyra asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"I…I don't know…" Yukiko responded. She was turning around, trying to see anything other than darkness. "What is this place? I thought we were going to see Roxas's dream…"

"Suu doesn't know." Suu said, looking as confused as everyone else. "Suu only saw Roxas fighting someone here, but Suu doesn't see Roxas."

"This place…" Xion said, looking around. Out of all of them, she seemed to understand what it was.

"Are we in Roxas's mind? Why is it so empty in here?" Yukiko asked.

"…If this were any other situation, I would've found that funny." Pyra said with a very slight smile. "But didn't Suu say Roxas was in trouble? Should we…look for him?"

"I mean, sure…but where? There's nothing here besides this platform." Yukiko said.

"Not quite…" Xion said as she moved to the edge of the tower. She found herself standing in front of a stained-glass pathway that lead to another tower. "Maybe we should follow this…"

Everyone looked a little uncomfortable at the idea because they still didn't know what was going on. What if this was Roxas's mind and they found themselves trapped because they decided to explore. What if they did something that affected Roxas and he never woke up because they invaded his mind.

"Well…We aren't going to find him if we stay here." Pyra said finally, taking a cautious step on to the first stained glass panel. It was solid, like an actual pathway. Slowly, the others followed suit, walking along the pathway down to the next tower.

It didn't take that long to get there, but when they arrived they were disappointed because Roxas wasn't there either. Suu was looking around frantically though.

"This is it! This was where Roxas was fighting that strange man. Suu saw him here!" She exclaimed frantically.

"This is the place Suu? Right here?" Yukiko asked.

Suu nodded her head, her eyes darting around and trying to find any sight of the Nobody. "Suu is positive. He was right here, fighting…"

"You four aren't supposed to be here…"

Everyone jumped as a dark voice echoed through the darkness behind them. They turned to see a figure dressed in black with red lining along his suit. His face was completely covered in a helmet, but his posture was easy to read. Clasped in his hand was a Keyblade that looked purely evil.

"Who are you?" Pyra demanded.

Suu gasped in horror as she pointed a finger at the strange men. "He's the one! Roxas was fighting him!"

The figure in black turned to the Slime and rested a hand on his hip. "Very interesting. I didn't think it was possible to connect others to the Dive to Heart. You learn something new never day."

"Dive to Heart?" Yukiko asked. "What's that? Who are you?"

"Me? I'm no one important. But I know you four are important to one of the reasons I'm imprisoned here." The figure said, raising the Keyblade overhead. "Maybe if I just destroy you now, the Nobody will lose his reason to exist. After all, if he's anything like Ventus, there is nothing he cares about more than his friends."

Before they could do anything, the person lunged. His movements were so fast that they didn't even have time to react. It was an instant before the stranger was in front of Yukiko, his Keyblade fully extended and ready to take her head off.

Yukiko only looked at him in horror, unable to react in time.

"You were his first friend, so maybe you should be first to die as well." The being said as he swung his Keyblade.

"YUKIKO!" Pyra screamed.

 _CLANG!_

Right before the dark Keyblade connected to Yukiko's neck, there was a flash of light and the attacker was thrown away from the Yeti. Yukiko collapsed backwards, her eyes were drawn to the light.

Standing there with a back-handed Keyblade in hand, a person stood there. From this angle, everyone could only see his back. He had spikey blond hair, and an unfamiliar back-handed Keyblade in his hand. To everyone who saw, he looked exactly like the person they were seeking.

"R-Roxas..." Yukiko whispered, her eyes wide and watery.

"Roxas" tilted his head slightly, not enough for them to see his face, before turning it back to the foe.

"YOU!" The enemy shouted. "YOU ALWAYS GET IN MY WAY!"

"Leave…" "Roxas" said calmly. "You have no power here."

The person paused for a moment before chuckling darkly. "For now. One day, when you wake up, I will finally complete my mission. I will finally be whole and you will watch as I drown the worlds in darkness." He finished, laughing manically before vanishing into the void. "Just you wait…Ventus…"

Everyone was still on edge as they waited for the echo of evil laughter to cease. No one could explain what just happened. It was all too confusing to understand.

"W…What the fuck was that?" Pyra exclaimed before turning to "Roxas."

"Roxas! You're here!" Yukiko shouted as she quickly pushed herself to her feet. She was just about to lunge at the boy, but "Roxas" halted her by raising his hand. He was still not facing them, so they couldn't see his face.

"One day…" "Roxas" whispered, just barely loud enough for them to hear.

"W-What?" Yukiko said, her face courted in confusion.

"One day…I hope to meet you all…But not today…" "Roxas" said as he simply pointed to another path of stained glass that lead to a tower in the distance.

Everyone looked over to see what he was pointing at before turning back to "Roxas" in confusion. However, when they looked back, he was gone. He simply disappeared just like there attacker did.

"What…what is going on!" Pyra yelled out. "Where did Roxas go!"

"That…That wasn't Roxas." Suu said carefully.

"What do you mean that wasn't Roxas!?" Yukiko asked. "He looked just like him! He saved me from…that guy!"

"I know, but Suu is sure. That wasn't Roxas."

"Ugh, whatever!" Pyra said, moving over to the pathway of stained glass. "This place doesn't make any sense at all. If that wasn't Roxas, then where the fuck is he!?"

"Maybe we should follow the path?" Xion suggested. "If that wasn't Roxas, then whoever it was said to go this way."

"But what if we're attacked again?" Yukiko asked, pushing herself to her feet.

The thought was a little worrying because they saw how fast their attacker was. If they found someone else like that in this strange place, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"We should try it. Whoever saved us told us to go this way. Maybe he was trying to tell us were Roxas was." Xion said.

"But that was Roxas…Oh whatever!" Yukiko said in defeat. She was still a little shaken up by the sudden attack, but they had a mission to accomplish. They needed to find Roxas and figure out why he wasn't waking up.

"Ok, let's get a move on then." Pyra said as she started to walk along the path of stained glass. Everyone else followed, but with much more caution.

* * *

Roxas and Sora were standing there, talking back and forth, laughing and sharing stories about their various adventures. Sure, they could see part of each other's lives in their dreams, but their connection never gave the full picture, meaning some situations were very strange to witness without context. They didn't know how long they stood there chatting with each other, but both could agree it was a lot of fun.

Sora would talk about some of the different worlds he'd been visiting recently with his friends Goofy and Donald. He also talked about Naminé and how she'd been progressing. The young boy gave a couple hints that his relationship with the witch was going very well. The way he blushed and stammered meant there might be something a bit more than just friendship between the two.

The real kicker was when Sora mentioned that Naminé was actually the nobody of Kairi. Turns out the young Witch always knew her status as a Nobody and who her Somebody was. It was only after her relationship with Sora developed a bit more that Naminé had the courage to tell Sora about it.

Hearing that information really blew Roxas away. It was interesting to hear how similar Naminé's situation was to himself. Both Kairi and Sora lost their hearts and were restored later without having to destroy their Heartless and Nobody. The reason why Naminé was able to retain her memories…Roxas didn't know. Maybe she also had dreams about Kairi the same way Roxas had dreams about Sora…Who knew. Either way, it was really interesting to hear how well she and Sora got along on their adventures.

Roxas talked about his life as a regular school student. They laughed as he told Sora some of the funny adventures he had in the photography club with his friends. The more they talked, the greater the Nobody began to feel a kind of kinship with his counterpart. It felt like he was talking with a good friend he hadn't seen in a while.

"ROXAS!"

Both Roxas and Sora jumped in fright as a scream of relief echoed through the darkness. Both boys turned towards the edge of the platform in confusion. It was strange enough that they were both here at the same time…so it really baffled them when they saw a small group of girls rushing towards them.

Roxas barely saw a flash of blue before something slammed hard into his stomach, sending him stumbling backwards a few feet. He felt the familiar sensation of slime crawling over his torso and constrict him to near suffocation. Only one creature had the ability to do that.

"What the…" Roxas said, looking down into a pair of emerald eyes. "What-Suu? How? How are you here?"

"Roxas! Roxas!" Suu exclaimed, constricting painfully around his body as she rubbed her face against his chest.

"ROXAS! YOU ASSHOLE!"

Again, The Nobody barely looked up before a black, furry blur leap into the air with a fist cocked and loaded. This situation was extremely familiar since he'd been on the other end of that fist a few times. On instinct, he closed his eyes, ready to feel something painful connect with his cheek.

Instead of pain though, two arms hooked around his neck and a body collided with his own, smashing poor Suu between them. A head landed on his shoulder and the force caused him to stumble back a few steps again. Roxas almost lost his balance, but managed to stay standing.

"You…Fucking…Asshole!" a familiar voice growled into his ear. "Why do you always bring out the worst in me!?"

"P-Pyra…What is going on? How-What-"

Before he could finish his sentence, there was one more person who threw herself into the pile. A white and tanned blur leaped into the air and did a full body slam right on top of him, Suu, and Pyra. This person didn't have any qualms about smashing into the others, only that she needed to hug any part of Roxas she could get ahold of.

Unfortunately, the only part left available was his head.

The Nobodies vison was met with darkness as something soft and suffocating pressed into his face. A pair of furry arms constricted around the back of his head, firmly trapping him in that position. The added weight and force of this last body finally sent Roxas crashing to the ground painfully.

Finding himself in a really familiar position, the Nobody realized only one person unintentionally did this to him all the time.

"Ymmphkyko?" Roxas muffled voice said through the Yeti's shirt. He was trying to free his arms to push her away, but they were firmly trapped to his sides by Suu. Pyra had his shoulders and neck tied up with her embrace, and the Yeti had his head firmly secured.

He was stuck.

"Roxas! We-We found you! You really were here!" Yukiko sobbed, tears falling from her eyes as she gripped his head in a powerful hold. "We were so worried! What happened? Why did you disappear? Why won't you wake up?"

"Mumph!" Roxas exclaimed, his face turning blue from lack of oxygen. With Suu constricting around his torso and Yukiko cutting off his air supply, he was on the verge of passing out. Was that even possible in the Dive to Heart.

How were they here? What was going on? He wanted to ask, but he was in a situation where he simply couldn't.

Sora just stood there in complete confusion. At first, he was worried that more people like the enemy from before were attacking. But when he watched the pile of bodies on the ground, he realized they were all familiar. Even though he didn't know them personally, he had seen them in glimpses of Roxas's life.

The big question was why they were here? The Dive to Heart was like a manifestation of one's heart…so how did they get here?

"Sora…"

Sora blinked a couple times as he turned to see the only person left that addressed him. He easily recognized her.

"Xion!" Sora exclaimed. "What are you doing here? How?"

"I…It's complicated…" Xion said, glancing over at the pile of bodies. She wanted to join in, but there was no more space as Roxas's body was completely covered.

There conversation seemed fell deaf to the ears of the pile as the girls literally smothered Roxas with affection. Though Pyra seemed like she was getting annoyed with being crushed between Roxas and Yukiko.

"Get off me!" Pyra exclaimed, pushing off Roxas's chest in the hopes of getting Yukiko off her back. The Hellhound had to admit that the Yeti had a strong grip when she didn't want to be moved. Luckily, she pushed enough for Yukiko to loosen her grip, allowing Roxas to get a glorious gasp of breath.

"Y-Yukiko!" Roxas exclaimed, looking up at his first friend. "How?"

Yukiko looked down at Roxas, tears still streaming down her face. She tried to hug him again, but Pyra wasn't having it. The Hellhound pushed against Roxas again, freeing herself and Yukiko from the pile. The Yeti took advantage of the free space by throwing her arms around his neck this time, something Roxas appreciated since he could breath. Yukiko refused to let go this time because she was afraid he'd disappear into the void again.

"You have a lot of explaining to do Roxas!" Pyra growled, baring her teeth at him as she sat close by. Her red eyes had tears of worry and relief in them.

"Pyra." Roxas said softly. He looked over to see a familiar puppet standing next to Sora. "Xion."

"Well? Are you going to answer us?" Pyra demanded before an unfamiliar person caught the corner of her eye. She glanced over to see Sora standing there with a completely bewildered expression. "Who the fuck are you?"

Sora flinched a little at the harsh language. "Oh…My name is Sora…Nice to meet you Pyra." Sora said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

The Hellhound narrowed her eyes as she stood up. Her posture became aggressive, which caused Sora to take a couple steps away.

"How do you know my name?"

"That…" Roxas said, getting Pyra's attention. "That's a long story. But how are you guys here?"

Before anyone could answer, a blue blob crawled out between Yukiko and Roxas before reforming herself into Suu's humanoid form. She looked over at Sora before bouncing up to him, a huge smile on her face.

"Suu! Don't go near him!" Pyra exclaimed.

"Sora!" Suu shouted happily. Without any warning, the slime threw her arms around the boy's shoulders. "Suu wanted…Suu always wanted to meet Sora!"

"Oh!" Sora said, clearly not ready for such unexpected affection from the slime. "Um…Nice to meet you…Suu."

Suu beamed happily, confusing Pyra and Yukiko even more. Why did Suu seem so familiar with this stranger?

Wait…

"Did you say Sora?" Pyra asked.

Sora pulled his attention away from Suu and glanced at the Hellhound. He nodded in confirmation. "My name is Sora."

"You're the guy Roxas said he was going to meet up with." Yukiko said, pulling away from Roxas just enough so she could glance over at the brown-haired boy. "Are you…Are you the reason Roxas won't wake up?"

"W-Well…In a way, yes." Sora said honestly. "But we haven't been asleep that long, right? It's only been a couple hours."

"What are you talking about? It's been over a week!" Pyra growled.

"…WHAT?" Sora and Roxas shouted in horror.

"What do you mean a week?" Roxas said, looking over at Yukiko. "There's no way it's been that long!"

"It's true Roxas…You've been asleep for a week. Nothing we did could wake you up…" She said, more tears spilling down her cheeks as she pulled him back into a hug. "We were so worried."

There was silence for a few minuets as Roxas and Sora absorbed the new information just given. Both couldn't believe it. How in the world had it been over a week?

"I guess…I guess I was beaten a lot worse than I thought." Sora finally said, feeling depressed. "I know I lost, but I didn't think it was that badly."

Of course, no one understood what Sora was talking about besides Roxas. He knew Sora was defeated by the Organization, but to be beaten so badly that he went comatose for a week…that was on another level.

"Suu couldn't…Suu couldn't see Roxas's dream for a week." Suu said, releasing Sora from her grasp.

"Suu?" Roxas said. "What do you mean?"

"The entire week, Suu couldn't see Roxas's dream until today. Suu saw Roxas fighting someone and was scared."

"Hmm…" Roxas hummed. "So, we were unconscious for a week, and then ended up here…"

"That's what it looks like." Sora agreed. "I think they might be trying to heal me on my end. And coming here was the last step in recovery…maybe?"

Roxas knew Sora was shooting in the dark with his assumptions, but it made the most sense. Neither knew why they ended up in the Dive to Heart.

"Hold on a couple seconds!" Pyra shouted. "You lost me again. What's going on? Who are you? Where are we? Why won't Roxas wake up?"

"Yeah, we need some answers Roxas!" Yukiko agreed, pulling away from the Nobody to look her friend in the eye.

Roxas paused for a few moments before glancing up at Sora. "I promised I would tell them everything. They…They need to know."

Instead of looking apprehensive, Sora just shrugged and nodded his head in approval. "Go ahead. It shouldn't be much of a problem if only a few people know about different worlds."

"D-Different WORLDS?!" Yukiko and Pyra shouted.

Roxas gave a sigh as he prepared himself for a huge explanation session. He was grateful Sora was here with him. Otherwise, this was going to get really confusing.

"…where should I start." He said, meeting the anticipated looks of Yukiko and Pyra.

* * *

 **Authors note: I really wanted to move the plot along with this chapter. Sora…got his ass handed to him by Organization 13 after trying to go after them on his own. I know a lot of Kingdom Hearts Wankers will complain about this, Saying Sora's some overpowered God, but in my story, Sora wasn't able to beat his opponent this time around. Who the member of the Organization that beat him, I'll leave it to the imagination for now. Anyway, big reveals are coming in the next chapter. Pyra and Yukiko are finally going to know the full story behind Roxas. Can't wait to write that.**

 **I thought it would be fun to have Roxas's friends appear in the Dive to Heart via Suu. It was a stretch of Logic, but that's what fanfiction is for.**

 **Did you enjoy? Please leave me a review. Thank you so much!**


	24. Chapter 24 : Day 65

**Authors Note: Heya guys! Wow, 24 chapters and 260K words before the big reveal. And yet, it had only been a couple months since Roxas started his adventure. I felt it was finally time. If you want to know one thing about me, it's that my biggest gripe with crossover fanfiction is the (Shutter) early reveal. Some Authors just don't get it. The most exciting part of a crossover is the anticipation OF the reveal. The slow revelation of unexplained powers, the dramatic build up, the character development, all destroyed by the early reveal of a character's origin. Usually, if I'm reading a crossover and the reveal happens in the first couple chapters, I drop the story instantly. All excitement dies a cruel and unusual death because all the cards have been shown. This doesn't just apply to the revelation of someone's origin, but the revelation of there powers as well. If someone displays all of there powers at once just to get a cheap WOW moment, it kills all excitement and anticipation for the rest of the story.**

 **That's why I take my time with reveals. It's very rare that an early reveal works, but those are far and few in-between. Anyway, now that I've got that off my chest, please enjoy the chapter. It was difficult to write because of how complicated the KH story is, especially if you try to describe it to someone who has no clue. This chapter is going to be exposition HEAVY! So, if you don't like TONS of talking and explanation…sorry. It needs to happen. I already skipped the whole reveal scene with Smith, so I wanted to write reactions from Roxas's friends this time around. I hope that's ok.**

 **Lastly, I just published the first chapter of my new story. It's a Hunter x Hunter crossover with My Hero Academia. Go check it out and leave a review of what you think! Thanks!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Blank Slate

Chapter 24

Day 65

It'd been a rough week for everyone in the Kurusu household. Ever since Roxas was dragged through the front door by Yukiko, Pyra, and Xion, the entire house lost nearly all semblance of joy and happiness.

Papi tried to keep the cheer up with her constant playfulness, but it was difficult when no one responded to her positively. She was too much of a birdbrain to fully grasp the intenseness of the situation because she thought Roxas was just taking a lengthy nap. Through it all, she seemed the least affected, always telling everyone that everything would work out in the end. It was a bit infuriating at times, but since it was impossible for her to understand what was going on, they just let her live out her fantasy for now.

Miia's usual cheer was nowhere to be found. She was devastated when she realized what happened to her surrogate little brother. The ambulance was called so fast that she didn't even have time to see him before he was whisked off. Only after darling got back from the hospital did she get the full story.

Now that he was home, she made it her mission to check up on Roxas every occasionally, when his friends were at school. Every time she saw his prone and unconscious body, she felt completely helpless to do anything. Just thinking about him never waking up nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Centorea also felt awful about the current situation. From what the doctors said, it was unsure if Roxas would wake up. That specific outcome worried her greatly because she wouldn't get the chance to apologize to him.

Why would she apologize?

For the past couple weeks, she hadn't been the kindest to him. She treated him like someone who could possibly hurt her host. Ever since witnessing his strange power and how he lost his temper with Mero, she regarded him as a threat to her master's safety.

And she treated him as such.

When Roxas was in the same room as her master, Centorea watched over him like a hawk, sword ready just in case he snapped. When he was alone in the house with her, they didn't talk much because she was always on guard. Even when he tried to make conversation, she chose to be difficult and give one-word responses.

Now that he was unconscious and the Centaur saw how it affected everyone in the house, including her master, she had nothing but regret for her actions. Kimihito was worried out of his mind. Even though she opposed him going to the school festival a week ago, he went anyway to support his younger tenants. When he came back, she witnessed a change in his demeaner when he talked about Roxas. Gone was the apprehensiveness and distrust, so she could only guess that something positive happened between the two.

But when Roxas was dragged home, unconscious, Centorea realized how cold she'd been for the past couple of weeks. The entire time he'd been sleeping, guilt was building up in her chest because she might not get the chance to make amends.

Rachnera was worried as well. In the short time she'd gotten to know Roxas, she viewed him like a younger brother, same as Miia. He was someone who was strong, courageous, honest to a fault, simple, and loyal to his friends. She really liked the kid and was devastated when she saw his unconscious form dragged into the house by his hysterical friends. Luckily, she was there to take control of the situation and stop Lala from doing something stupid.

During most of the week, Rachnera stayed up in the attic and continued to edit his book. By doing that, she felt like it was her way of having hope that everything would be alright. It took a lot of hours, but she felt she'd edited the first part of Roxas's story enough to sent to one of her contacts. The first book would consist of the main character…Sora…planning his escape from destiny island, his world getting attacking, acquiring the Keyblade, ending up in traverse town, learning about his destiny, meeting Donald and Goofy, fighting the heartless known as Guard Armor, and setting out on his journey to find his friends.

The Arachnera thought that would be a good stopping place for the first book. Roxas had written a huge story so far, one that could not be contained by a single volume. After all, Sora visited a dozen or so worlds and his adventure on each could be its own book. With a few more fleshed out ideas, Rachnera was positive they could make this adventure into a nice little franchise and make a ton of money. Both Humans and Liminal could be a target audience, which means the books could sell very well if marketed right.

And with the themes of the book being about friendship, good and evil, light and darkness, there was a lot of content to be explored. For a boy having Amnesia, Roxas really had a vast imagination to pull off such an interesting story.

Rachnera gave a small sigh as she sent an email with the edited draft of Roxas's first book to the publishers. She really wanted to talk with her little bro a bit more before she did, but she didn't know when he would wake up. It had already been a week and he shown no signs of recovery. It was really bumming her out.

Lala was annoyed for most of the week. She had informed everyone of her thoughts regarding Roxas and how she felt it was her duty to end him. However, she was always foiled by Rachnera and Kimihito. Kimihito was especially irritated by Lala's words and forbade her from attacking the boy. The Dullahan was reluctant at first, but eventually agreed when he threatened to kick her out of the house if she didn't behave. She took the threat to heart because she only had one more change before being deported. Her record for running away from her hosts was quite substantial.

Still, there were times where she was found in his room, staring down at Roxas with curiosity and distain, as if his very existence was something she couldn't accept. Lala didn't have anything against him personally, she just didn't know what exactly he was. She had never seen anything quite like it before.

All in all, everyone was worried sick about the boy. However, the one most affected was Mero. Usually, she would rejoice because another tragedy had befallen them…but something quite different happened this time.

* * *

FLASHBACK.

Roxas had just been taken home from the hospital and was laying on his bed. The other members of the household were gathered in his room, getting an update from Kimihito. The night was stressful for everyone since they didn't know the entire situation yet.

"What's wrong with him Darling?" Miia asked, tears streaming down her face as she glanced down at the boy helplessly. She could see his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath, but no other indication he was alive.

Kimihito gave a depressed sigh as he glanced down at his tenant. "We don't know. The doctors ran a bunch of different tests, but they have no idea why he won't wake up."

"Master, is he in a coma perhaps?" Centorea asked quietly. Her face was courted in a sad frown.

"No…his brain waves are completely regular for someone who's asleep." Kimihito answered while shaking his head.

"Was he attacked? Did…Someone find out…the truth?" Rachnera said, choosing her words carefully.

Kimihito glanced at her sharply when he realized she was asking about the trafficking incident. The others look at her in confusion.

"He wasn't attacked according to Yukiko and Pyra. He just collapsed. We don't know why." He said simply.

The other tenants were about to ask what they were talking about, but were interrupted by the sound of a wheelchair rolling into the room. They turned to see Mero sitting there with a look of worry in her eyes.

"…How is he?" She asked cautiously.

Ever since the incident between Roxas and Mero happened, Mero wasn't treated much differently than before by the rest of the tenants. Sure, they were disturbed by her infatuation with tragedy, and were disgusted when she said she preferred that Yukiko not been rescued, but they also accepted it as part of her personality. So, it was surprising when they saw Miia's eye narrowing at her.

"Why do you care?" The Lamia growled, causing Mero to look over at her in confusion.

"I…I don't understand. Why would I not worry about the wellbeing of my fellow tenant."

"Oh, I don't know…Maybe because you are secretly getting off on it." "Miia snapped back.

Everyone in the room filched at the venom in Miia voice. They had never heard her say such harsh things before, so they were too shocked to respond.

"Miia!" Kimihito gasped. "How could you say something like that!?"

"What? It's true isn't it? You remember what she said about Yukiko, right? How she wished Yukiko was never rescued, just so she could fulfill her tragedy fetish." The Lamia said angrily.

"I…" Mero didn't know how to respond to that. The feeling of hurt and sadness in her heart increased dramatically. Ever since Roxas first blew up at her, the feeling never left. She saw how her words and actions affected everyone's mood in the house. She saw how they treated Roxas after he lost his cool against her. And she noticed how Yukiko and Pyra had acted around her, as if they were disgusted by her very presence.

Throughout it all, the mermaid was confused. Instead of feeling elated that all these tragedies had taken place, she felt horrible. She hated the way thing were right now. She hated the fact that everyone was walking on eggshells around Roxas, she hated how Yukiko and Pyra acted as if they couldn't stand being in the same room as her, and she hated the current atmosphere of the household. The mermaid actually preferred it when they could all laugh at the dinner table together.

Why? Why didn't she relish in these tragedies?

"I…I'm not." Mero finally said sadly, looking away from the glaring Lamia. "Seeing him like this doesn't…make me happy…"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I mean, it's not like you tried to rape and drown darling just because you wanted to tell your future kids how their father died and left them." Miia said, bringing up a recent incident.

Mero flinched violently, as if she'd been slapped.

"Miia, that's enough!" Kimihito said firmly, though the damage was done.

Mero had tears in her eyes as Miia's words pierced through her heart. Again, she didn't feel happy that these bad things were happening. She didn't enjoy what Miia said. In fact, she felt worse than ever.

Miia looked away from her darling as she turned to Mero. "I bet you're just glowing with arousal right now. After all, my little bro may n-never wake up!" She choked, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"I'm not!" Mero cried. "I'm not happy!"

"Why not?" Mia asked angrily. "After all, isn't this what you always wanted? Aren't you turned on by how unhappy everyone is?"

"Miia!" Kimihito shouted.

Everyone was shocked by the Lamia's outburst. Never had she said anything like that before, not to anyone. Even if she was frustrated at the situation, what Miia was saying was unfair and out of line.

Miia didn't meet anyone's gaze as she slithered out of the room, pushing past Mero as she did so.

"That was…unpleasant." Centorea said.

"It was uncalled for." Kimihito said with a frown. "I need to talk to her. She needs to know that it's not ok to say things like that." He was about to leave before he felt sharp hands grip his shoulders.

"Let her calm down." Rachnera said, getting Kimihito to glance up at her. "Emotions are high right now. Just let everyone cool off before you make things worse. I think Miia will realize how harsh she was being and apologize on her own."

Kimihito pursed his lips, but nodded in agreement. Everyone was a bit on edge because of what was going on. If he confronted Miia right now, it would make things worse.

Mero simply lowered her head and rolled herself out of the room without another word. Though nothing was said, no one could deny that Mero was distraught and hurt by what was said.

FLASHBACK END

* * *

Since that confrontation, Mero didn't say much to anyone. She mostly stayed in her room. Rachnera was right though because Miia did eventually approach and tearfully apologize, saying that it wasn't fair for her to take her frustration out on the mermaid.

It helped a bit, but Mero couldn't deny there was some truth to Miia's words. Why were Mermaids so obsessed with Tragedy? After all, the bad things that happened, it didn't bring her any happiness or joy.

Only sadness and misery.

Now Roxas was unconscious so she couldn't talk to him. Yukiko avoided her, so she didn't get the chance to apologize. It was obvious that Roxas told Yukiko what she said about her, and the Yeti didn't appreciate it at all. How would everything get resolved if Roxas never woke up? How was she supposed to apologize to Yukiko if she kept avoiding her?

All in all, Mero was beginning to realize that Tragedy wasn't as good as mermaids made it out to be. In fact, it was pretty awful.

* * *

After hearing about different worlds, it was expected of Yukiko and Pyra to be a bit excited to learn more. So, it took a few seconds for them to calm down enough to listen. Currently, Roxas was still sitting on the ground with Yukiko straddling his lap, her arms locked around his neck. She was not going to let him go anytime soon in fear that he might pull another disappearing act. Pyra was staring suspiciously at Sora before glancing down at Suu with uncertainty.

Sora was standing there with Suu still wrapping him in a hug, awkwardly patting her on the head. Xion simply waited for the inevitable explanation to occur.

"Umm…" Roxas started awkwardly, causing everyone to look over at him. "I don't really know where to begin…so, what do you want to know first?"

Yukiko pulled away from Roxas a bit and glanced over at Pyra. Both were trying to find the right question to ask. But after a few moments of pondering, the Yeti glanced over at Sora and pointed at him, thinking this would be a good place to start.

"Who are you?"

Roxas and Sora glanced at each other before sighing simultaneously. If they were going to answer that question, a lot of context was needed.

"You might as well sit down and get comfortable, because this might take a while." Roxas said with a chuckle.

"Already am!" Yukiko said with a grin, grinding her hips slightly and throwing Pyra a challenging look. The Hellhound easily noticed and sent a playful glare at her rival.

Roxas felt blood rush to his cheeks at what the Yeti was doing. How was he supposed to focus on an explanation if she kept that up? He didn't know why, but it was distracting as hell! Also, this explanation was going to take a long time. If she kept sitting there, he was going to lose feeling in his legs.

"Um…Yukiko…This is going to take a long time to explain…So, I'd appreciate it if you…got off." He said, trying to ignore the feeling of her soft, warm body against his.

"You'll manage." Yukiko said simply. "I'm not going to let you disappear on me again."

"Disappear…what…" Roxas said before rolling his eyes. In his mind, he thought she was still talking about the time he went back to Organization 13 without telling her. "Never mind…"

"Give it a rest Yukiko." Pyra said, walking over and sitting down next to the Nobody. "I have a feeling he's not going anywhere for a while."

"You just want my spot!" Yukiko accused playfully.

Sora watched the scene in amusement. The interaction between the three friends was even more entertaining in person than when he saw it in his dreams…and a lot more sensual. Poor Roxas probably had no idea how he should feel about the situation, or the implication of what they were talking about.

Xion was pretty quiet about the whole thing. She also wanted to give Roxas a hug. She was unbelievable relieved when she saw him there…but decided to let Yukiko and Pyra have there moment first. There would be plenty of time later.

"And you're just jealous I got to him first." Pyra said back, reaching over and capturing one of Roxas's arms within her own. "He wouldn't dare run away after promising us some answers, isn't that right, Roxas?"

The Nobody in question glanced over at the hellhound and saw the creepy, overly sweet smile on her face as she started to painfully dig her claws into his biceps. He got the message loud and clear.

"Y-yeah…I'm not going anywhere."

"Or course you're not, but this is for good measure." Pyra said, that scary smile sill on her face.

"Hmm…" Yukiko hummed before swinging her leg off Roxas's lap and sitting next to him, his other arm still captured in her embraced. "Then I'll have to make do with this."

Roxas sat up a bit more and got comfortable, his blush slowly receding from his face. "So, that's where you want me to start? You want to know who Sora is?" The Nobody asked, nudging over to the brown-haired boy.

They nodded and watched as Sora sat down across from them well, close enough to be heard, but far enough to make Yukiko and Pyra comfortable. Suu detached from the boy and sat herself down between Yukiko and Sora while Xion took the remaining spot on Sora's other side next to Pyra. They formed a small circle on the mural in the middle of the Darkness.

"I have so many other questions, but yeah, let's start with that." Pyra said. "It sounds like if you answer that question, you might answer a lot of the others I have."

"You're not wrong." Roxas said, glancing at his counterpart. "You'll help me explain, right?"

"Or course!" Sora said cheerfully.

Yukiko and Pyra stared at the boy who sat adjacent to them. Because they had no idea who he was, they were, of course, apprehensive. But his cheerful smile and carefree aura really made it difficult not to feel comfortable around him. In fact, he gave off an eerily familiar vibe, as if they'd known him for a while.

Both were confused by this feeling because this was the first time they'd met Sora before.

"As for who Sora is…" Roxas said, wondering where he should start. "Do you want the long version, or the short version?"

"hmm…" Pyra scratched her chin with her free paw, the other curled around Roxas arm. "I have a lot of questions, so let's do the short version. Is he like your brother or something?"

"Well, no." Roxas laughed. If only it were that simple. "Simply put, if not for Sora, I would've never existed in the first place."

"…"

Yukiko and Pyra gave Roxas the flattest look they could muster because of how little his answer explained anything. In fact, they were left with even more questions. It didn't help that Sora snorted in laughter. Sure, it was completely true, but how were the two girls supposed to understand what he meant? Not even Sora knew about Roxas's condition before he asked Yen Sid.

"I changed my mind. Give us the Extra-EXTRA-long version, because if every answer is like that, we won't get anywhere." Pyra said with an amused sigh as she heard Sora laugh again. His cheerful chuckle seemed to ease the tension even more, causing the others to smile slightly as a result.

"If I'm to answer that question, there are a lot of other things we need to talk about." Roxas said as he glanced over at Sora. The boy regained his composure and looked ready to add his impute when needed. "You two know I can use the Corridor to teleport to different places…"

"Yeah…" Yukiko confirmed.

"What I didn't tell you was that it also has the ability to open doorways between…different worlds."

"…" again, with a huge reveal like that, both girls didn't know how to respond. It was almost like telling them God existed. Some people believed it, but there wasn't any physical prof. Just like how people believed there was life on different planets, but no one had ever seen aliens before.

"So, we did hear correctly." Pyra said after a long silence. She glanced over at Sora. "You did say it was ok if a few people knew about other worlds…"

Sora nodded. "It's not something we reveal to everyone we come in contact with." Sora mentioned. "In fact, for those who have the ability to travel to different worlds, its actually a rule not to tell anyone."

"So…" Yukiko said, glancing at Roxas as she put two and two together. "You're telling us this because…you're from a different world entirely?"

Roxas nodded, causing both Pyra's and Yukiko's eyes to widen as a result.

"I told you a month ago about the first time I used the corridor of darkness. Without a destination in mind, it transported me to a random place in the universe." Roxas said slowly, waiting for them to nod as an indication that they understood. "That place was your world. I…Never mentioned exactly where I came from because…it was a rule not to."

"Oh…So that's why…" Yukiko said, still trying to wrap her brain around what was being said. "That's why you never told us you were from…a different world."

"When I was first found by Organization 13, they told us we should never reveal it to anyone." Roxas continued.

"…I have some questions about them too," Pyra said slowly. "But I'll get to that later. So, no bullshit, you actually came from a different world? And the Pure Darkness has the power to do that?"

Roxas simply nodded his head in confirmation. "It was by complete chance that I ended up on your world. I could've ended up anywhere."

"Wow…but isn't space endless? Wouldn't it be like a one in infinity chance that you'd end up on our world?" Pyra asked, scratching her chin.

"That's…accurate." Roxas laughed.

"It must be fate then…Out of the countless planets, you ended up on ours." Yukiko whispered in awe. She was still trying to come to terms that one of her best friends was from a completely different world. Her mind began to fill with so many questions that her brain was about to burst. After all, how often did you get the chance to talk to someone from a different world, someone who was basically an alien.

The Yeti paused on that train of thought as she glanced over at Roxas, her face courted in confusion. "Wait a minute…you said Smith ran tests on you in order to determine what Liminal you were, right?" She asked, waiting for Roxas to nod. "The results said you were human. If you're from a different world, then how could that happen? Aren't you an…alien or something?"

"Well…" Roxas paused, not quite sure how to answer.

"Actually, you'd be surprised how many worlds contain humans." Sora said, drawing the attention to himself. "Most of the worlds I've visited are occupied by humans. In fact, I think your world has one of the most diverse arrays of non-humans I've ever seen."

"Are…Are you serious?" Pyra asked, completely stunned. "So, you haven't been to a world where everyone had green skin and bug eyes?"

Sora shook his head and laughed. "Not yet. I'm sure it exists somewhere, but I haven't seen one."

"…That's…boring." Pyra admitted. She was hoping space was filled with a huge array of alien creatures, so learning that most planets were occupied by humans was a bit disappointing.

"This…This is a lot to take in." Yukiko said, staring at the young boy sitting across from them. "You sound like you've been to a lot of worlds before."

"I've been to quite a few." Sora confirmed proudly.

"Can you use the Pure darkness like Roxas can?" Pyra asked. She never thought it was possible to control the Pure Darkness before she met Roxas. To think there could be others was a bit frightening to her.

"Actually no." Sora said. "I can't use the darkness like Roxas can. To travel to different worlds, I use a special space ship called the Gummy."

"…" Again, his response only spawned more questions than it did answers. It was frustrating because it felt like they were taking three steps back for every one step forwards.

"Alright, another question to be stored in the mental archive…" Pyra said, not wanting to veer the conversation too far off topic. "So…You and Roxas are both from a different world…"

"Yes." Roxas and Sora said.

Pyra then turned to Xion, who had been pretty quiet so far. "You as well?"

"Yeah." Xion confirmed. "Both Axel and I came from a different world."

"The red head too huh?" Pyra hummed. "Are there a lot of people who can travel between worlds?"

"No." Sora answered. "The ability to travel between worlds is only possible for a few people. No one is actually supposed to leave their own world but…certain circumstances made it necessary…"

"Certain…circumstances?" Yukiko asked with a raised eyebrow.

Her question caused Roxas, Sora, and Xion to look a bit uncomfortable now. This part of the conversation that would really scare the two girls.

"Um…Guys?" Pyra said, noticing the change in there demeaner. "What's wrong?"

"Those circumstances…" Roxas said after a moment of pause. "Has to do with the darkness…something happened a long time ago and darkness was unleashed upon the worlds."

"The darkness…As in Pure Darkness?" Pyra asked, feeling a bit of fear creep up her spine.

"I think we are talking about the same thing." Roxas said with a nod. "Pyra, had anyone ever tried to experiment with the Pure Darkness?"

Pyra hummed a little in thought. "If I remember correctly, A group of high devils tried to run some experiments on it before. Nothing came of it."

"Well, those high devils were not the first." Roxas said, glancing at Sora. "I don't know the whole story, but a long time ago, someone did extensive research on the darkness."

Sora's eyes lit up as he realized the direction Roxas was taking this conversation.

"Ansem." Sora confirmed.

"Ansem?" Yukiko and Pyra asked.

Sora nodded, deciding it would be best if he explained what he knew. Hell, he didn't even quiet understand it very well and Roxas only knew bits and pieces.

"Ansem was a researcher who was studying the darkness. He conducted experiments, trying to learn all he could about it…but it corrupted him." Sora said, causing Pyra's eyes to widen. "The darkness took him over, but in exchange, he gained control over it."

"Like how Roxas can control it?" Yukiko asked.

"No…" Roxas answered. "Ansem became its master. His control became so great that he gained control over monsters born of darkness." He paused for a moment. "The heartless…"

Just as Roxas said that, everyone noticed a small patch of darkness suddenly appear in the middle of there circle. All eyes snapped to it, widening in horror as it began to take shape. It morphed, folded, and condensed until a small creature stood there.

It was small, completely black, had yellow eyes, and two antennae.

A shadow.

At first, Roxas was worried because he had no idea how a heartless could have invaded the Dive to heart. But then he realized that it was impossible to do so.

"W-What's that!" Yukiko shouted, clutching harder onto Roxas's arm and trying to scoot away.

"Relax…It's not real." Sora said, coming to the same realization as Roxas. He remembered his first trip to the Dive to Heart and how he had to fight heartless there. "It's just a projection. Remember, this place is basically our inner mind."

Pyra was staring at the creature in horror. There was no doubt about it, this thing was made of pure darkness. But how could the darkness take a form like this? How was something like that possible?

"Y-You said creatures born of darkness…" Pyra stuttered, clutching Roxas's arm a bit tighter. "Is that it?"

"That's one form it takes." Roxas said. "It's called a shadow and it's the weakest of the heartless."

Hearing this was just horrifying to Pyra. If the darkness could take shape and attack on instinct…that was far worse than having a small substance contained in a secluded area of Hell.

"They're the main reason why I have to travel to different worlds." Sora continued. "Ansem learned to control the heartless and he unleashed them on the universe.

"Why would he do that?"

"I honestly don't know his motivation." Sora said sadly. "I think he wanted to plunge everything into darkness…I just don't know why. He swarmed the worlds with heartless with one goal in mind. Expand his army by finding and devouring hearts."

There was a terrifying chill running through everyone's spine as they listened to Sora talk. The serious tone in his voice and the expression on his face told them clearly, he wasn't lying. It was clear that Yukiko and Pyra didn't quite understand what he meant, but knew it was horrible. They glanced down at the little creature, who was looking around frantically as if trying to find the nearest heart to consume.

"And when the heartless takes someone heart, that person is lost to the darkness…and a new heartless is born." Sora finished, leaving everyone in a horrifying silence.

Roxas felt his friends shaking against him and glanced over at them. Yukiko was clutching his arm tightly, her eyes wide in horror at what she was hearing. Pyra was in the same boat, but since she was more familiar to the darkness than Yukiko, her reaction was a bit more intense.

"Yukiko…Pyra…" Roxas said softly, he gave there hands a reassuring squeeze. "If you don't want to hear the rest, I understand. Both of you aren't even supposed to know about this."

"…"

For a moment, he thought they would agree with him. But then they gave him a look that clearly asked if he was insane.

"Not a chance Roxas!" Yukiko said, squeezing his hand back.

"Seriously, you think you're getting off the hook in explaining everything that easily? Hell no!" Pyra said. "But…you said this little thing is the weakest of the heartless?"

Roxas gave them a smile, glad they were taking it well so far. "They come is various shapes and sizes. Some of them can be as small as this shadow…" Roxas said, pointing to the smaller heartless. "While others can be bigger than houses. It all depends on the strength of the persons who was lost to the darkness."

"What does that mean?" Pyra asked, feeling a bit more worried.

The Nobody gave a sigh because this was getting close to the part where he came in. "The heartless infest a world in order to find and devour hearts. When a person has their heart devoured, they turn into heartless themselves…"

"When you say heart…do you mean it literally?" Yukiko asked. "Because it sounds like you're saying these creatures eat people's soul."

"It's similar." Sora interjected, giving Roxas a break. "A person consists of the body, the soul, and the heart. Basically, the body is…well…the physical aspect of a person" He paused, making sure Pyra and Yukiko were on the same page. "The soul is what gives the body life…and the heart is what you consider the individual."

"And…. that means?" Yukiko asked.

"The heart is you. Who you are, what you feel, your personality, you're desires, everything that makes you unique." Sora said. "The one thing that makes you different from everyone else is the heart."

"I…I think I understand, but why are the heartless after that?" Yukiko asked.

"Because out of the body, soul, and heart, only the heart can contain darkness." Sora revealed. "And there is darkness within every heart."

"What…Are you serious?" Pyra asked, her mouth agape. The horrifying substance in hell was actually present in everyone? She wasn't sure if they were talking about the same thing anymore.

"It's kind of hard to explain, but the amount of darkness in a person's heart varies. Some people have only a little, some are born with a lot, but everyone has at least some. The heartless are attracted to the darkness in everyone's heart. They seek those with a lot and end up drowning their heart in darkness."

"This…This is too much." Yukiko said, rubbing her forehead with one of her paws, while the other was still attached to Roxas. "You're saying that there's a huge number of these monsters attracted to the evil in people's hearts?"

"That pretty much sums it up." Sora said. "But darkness and evil aren't really the same thing. Like I said, darkness is a strange concept. Just know that the heartless are attracted to it."

"So essentially, heartless are like a virus. They infest planets and turn the entire population into heartless." Pyra concluded causing Roxas and Sora to nod.

"And in the end, the heartless infect the world so much that the entire world is plunged into the darkness." Sora said. "That's the circumstances for which I need to travel between worlds. With the heartless running out of control, it's my job to stop them."

Yukiko and Pyra raised an eyebrow at the boy, wondering what his role was in all of this. They seemed to have taken a diversion from their original question, so this was a good way to get back on track.

"How?" Yukiko asked simply.

Sora, Roxas, and Xion glanced at each other before nodding at the same time. Roxas shook his arm free of Pyra and extended it in front of him, Sora and Xion doing the same thing. At the same time, they all summoned the Keyblade to their hands. Since Sora had seen Xion use the Keyblade in his dreams of Roxas, he wasn't overly surprised to see her holding one. It was still interesting to confirm in person though.

"The one thing that can kill the heartless and release the hearts is the Keyblade." Sora said holding up the legendary weapon. "I'm guessing Roxas told you a little about it?"

"Not much…" Pyra said, staring at the identical weapons in Xion, Roxas, and Sora's hands.

Chuckling Sora gazed over his weapon. "I'm not quite sure what it is myself, but it's a legendary weapon used by warriors in the past to contain the darkness. Using it, I can travel to different worlds and seal them, making it impossible for the heartless to destroy that world. I also hunt the heartless because the Keyblade has the power to destroy them and release the hearts taken captive by the heartless."

"That…sounds like a lot of responsibility…" Yukiko said, frowning a bit. "You look like you're our age. How old are you?"

"Me? I just turned 15." Sora said with a somber smile. "It's a huge responsibility, but the Keyblade choose me. I have to do it."

"It…Chose you?" Pyra asked. "How does that work?"

Sora chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure exactly. It finds someone with a strong heart and choses them to be its master. It could happen to anyone…but it happened to me."

With such a burden on someone so young, Pyra had to admit she admired that kind of honor. But what about Roxas? Was he also chosen by the Keyblade? Was he also fighting the heartless when he wasn't hanging out with them? How was he involved in any of this? What about Xion? What was her role in this crazy story?

"So, let me summarize." Roxas said, pulling the attention to himself. "Sora is a boy from another world who was chosen by the Keyblade to protect the worlds from the darkness. He travels to those worlds and hunts the heartless."

"Well…I understand that simple explanation now." Pyra said, exhaling a large sigh. "But…what does that have to do with you? Were you chosen by the Keyblade too before you lost your memories? What did you mean when you said your existence depended on Sora?"

"Um…" Roxas paused, trying to find a way to explain this without getting to complicated. He knew he would have to reveal that he lied about having amnesia. He glanced over at Sora, who was being very helpful so far. "It's kind of complicated."

"I think we'll be ok." Pyra rolled her eyes. "After what we've heard so far, I don't think there's much you can say that will really throw us off."

"…I doubt that." Roxas replied dryly. "I know it feels like I'm beating around the bush, but in order to answer your question, you need to know a little more about Sora."

"Can't directly explain anything, huh?" Yukiko asked with a smile.

"It didn't go so well last time."

"True…" Pyra said, glancing over at the brown-haired boy. "So, we get the basics. You're a mystical space knight traveling to different worlds in order to fight the darkness…I get that…but what's your story? Is it straightforward enough that we don't have to have another huge mind-breaking reveal?"

Sora laughed at Pyra's sense of humor. It was totally different to actually talk with her in person than seeing fragmented pieces of her in his dreams. "I had a pretty normal life growing up. I went to school, hung out with my friends, and had simple little adventures with them. Truthfully, it wasn't really different than what you guys and Roxas do every day."

"And how do you know about that?" Pyra asked suspiciously.

"Pyra…" Roxas deflated. "That will be explained later."

"Right…keep going then." Pyra gestured to Sora.

Sora chuckled at Pyra's lack of patience. "One day, everything changed. The darkness we were talking about earlier…well, it completely infested my world."

"The heartless attacked your world?" Yukiko asked, her eyes widening. It sounded like the origin story of a comic book hero.

"Yeah…" Sora said, leaving out the part where his friend was the reason. "To make a long story short, I was chosen by the Keyblade during that time. My world was consumed by the darkness and I was transported to another world."

"How? You said you couldn't use Pure darkness." Pyra said.

"To this day, I don't know how it happened." Sora admitted. "I just remember waking up on another world. But getting back on topic, I had two other friends that were with me at the time. When our world was consumed, we were separated. Since I ended up on another world, I hoped that my friends did as well. So, I searched the worlds looking for them using the Gummy ship."

"Right, the strange space ship you mentioned earlier." Pyra said. It was a very interesting story, and a tragic one. His entire world was destroyed and it was by dumb luck he managed to survive.

"…To make an extremely long story short." Sora reiterated. "I managed to find both of them, but they were in pretty bad conditions."

"Such as?" Yukiko asked, getting really interested in this story.

"I won't go into detail when it comes to my friend Riku." Sora said, leaving that story for another time. "But eventually, I found my other friend Kairi. I found out that her heart was already consumed by the darkness. All that was left was a lifeless empty shell…"

"You found her…but she was already dead?" Yukiko asked, trying to clarify what Sora was saying.

"Not dead per se" Sora said as he paused a moment. A projection of Kairi appeared in front of them, startling Yukiko and Pyra. Sora simply looked at the image in surprise for a few moments before a fond smile crossed his face. "It turns out that Kairi lost her heart when our world was consumed by the darkness. Riku, our other friend, made some bad choices in order to find her. It was how he got possessed by the person we mentioned earlier, Ansem."

There was a small pause for a moment as Sora waited for Yukiko and Pyra to nod.

"We fought and I defeated him." Sora continued. "After, he revealed that Kairi didn't become a heartless, rather her heart found a safe place to hide and he told me where it was."

"So, where was it?" Yukiko asked, leaning forward. She was engrossed in the story so far. This boy was fighting an evil that was spreading to many worlds while he searched for his friends, one of which sounded like a little more than a friend. That kind of story was her cup of tea indeed. The young Yeti was sitting forward, eagerly listening to every juicy detail.

Sora smiled fondly as he placed a hand over his heart. "Right here."

Of course, no one understood what he was talking about except Roxas and Xion. The Nobody was waiting for Sora to finish, as it would be his turn next.

Sora continued. "Our bond was strong enough that Kari's lost heart found a place within mine. Trust me, I know it doesn't make much sense, but that's what happened."

"I think that's kinda cute!" Yukiko squealed.

"That's…nice and all, but what does this have to do with Roxas?" Pyra asked curiously. The whole point of this conversation was to discover Roxas's origin and where he came from. While she did like the story, it felt more like stalling than anything.

"It has everything to do with me." Roxas said, causing all attention to focus on him. He opened his mouth and closed it again. This next part was very personal to Sora, so it felt like an insult to describe it.

Seeing the conflicted look on Roxas's face, Sora gave him a knowing smile. "Go ahead Roxas. It's just as important to you as it is to me."

The nobody still hesitated, but nodded when his Somebody gave him an encouraging smile. "Well…To make a long story short…"

"We're going to be hearing that a lot, huh?" Yukiko teased.

"The only way Sora could release Kairi's heart was to release his own." Roxas said. "He managed to find a way to do it, and Kairi was restored…but something went horribly wrong."

Slowly, the nobody glanced over at his friends to see their undivided attention. "Sora ended up being consumed by the darkness. He sacrificed his own heart to bring back Kairi. In the end, he was turned into a heartless."

The two girls paused for a few moments before slowly looking over at Sora. The boy was smiling nervously, scratching the back of his head. What he did back then was probably not the smartest move, but it was his only option at the time.

"You…died?" Yukiko asked.

"I lost my heart." Sora corrected. "It was…probably the worst moment in my life. There was nothing but falling into endless darkness. If I can describe it, I would say it felt like my entire being was slowly being corroded into nothing."

"But…But you're here!?" Yukiko exclaimed. "What happened next!?"

"Kairi saved me." Sora said with a smile. "Just as I was able to protect her heart because of our bond, she was able to pull me out of the darkness for the same reason."

"That doesn't make much sense." Pyra said skeptically.

"Sure, it does!" Yukiko countered. "With the power of love, Kairi brought her man back to life."

"It's close enough." Sora laughed. "But the main reason it was possible was because Kairi is the source of my light. When I was a heartless, her voice cut through the darkness and I was able to follow it back."

"Awe! That's so romantic!" Yukiko gushed. She really was a sucker for happy endings.

"That's where I come in." Roxas said, changing the atmosphere immediately. "I told you that the heartless replicate by consuming the hearts of people…right?"

The two girls nodded, but didn't say anything so he could continue. "What we didn't talk about was an occurrence that sometimes happens when heartless attack. Occasionally, another creature is created alongside the heartless."

"Another creature?" Pyra asked, getting more worried. It was bad enough there were creatures made of pure darkness, but there was something else as well?

Roxas nodded as he glanced up. A new projection appeared before them. This one was white with a strange symbol on its head. Its body swayed from side to side and its mouth looked like an opened zipper.

"What is that?" Pyra asked. This creature didn't give off the same vibe as the heartless, but there was still something unsetting about it.

"That…" Roxas said. "Is a Nobody. When a person with a strong heart is attacked and consumed by a heartless, this creature is born."

"And…what is a Nobody?" Yukiko asked.

"A Nobody is the body and soul of a person who lost their heart. They actually don't exist because their existence was stolen by the heartless."

"So…there like an empty shell?" Yukiko asked, also staring at the creature with fascination.

"Yeah, exactly. Most of them are like the ones in front of you. They can't think on their own, and don't attack anyone unless commanded to do so by…" Roxas paused for a moment.

"By who?" Pyra asked, glancing at Roxas.

"By Organization 13."

"…WHAT? The organization that found you?" Yukiko exclaimed.

Roxas nodded as he took a deep breath. "They can control the Nobodies because…. They are Nobodies as well."

"Alright, Alright, time out!" Pyra said, her paws forming into a Tee sign. "How can this organization control them? How are they nobodies? Didn't you just say they can't think on their own?"

"It's extremely rare." Roxas said. "But sometimes, a nobody can retain it's memories of when it had a heart. Every member of Organization 13 can remember who they were. They look as human as I do. They are empty husks, devoid of emotions and feelings." He continued, despite his friends horrified expressions. "But since they remember what it's like to feel, it torments them because they can't anymore."

There was a brief pause for a few moments before things started to click in Pyra's head. This entire explanation, the reason they talked about Sora, the heartless, and the Nobodies, was all to help explain what Roxas was.

"Roxas…You said everyone in Organization 13 was a Nobody…" Pyra said, the gears turning in her head.

"Yeah…" Roxas responded quietly, turning away from the hellhound and dipping his gaze to the ground. His bangs covered his eyes so they couldn't see his expression fully.

"…Every one of them?" Yukiko asked as she also began to realize what they were getting at.

"Yeah…"

Her eyes widened when things started to fall into place. "But Roxas, you were also a member of Organization 13…"

"I was…"

"Then you were…You are…"

Slowly, Roxas nodded his head. "I am also a Nobody."

It was as if a bomb when off in the minds of Yukiko and Pyra. The huge explanation that happened before this reveal had built up to this moment, and they didn't know if their minds could take it anymore. With everything they learned, this one took the cake.

"But…But you said…You said A Nobody could remember their past life!" Yukiko protested. "You have amnesia, right? You can't remember anything, so surly there's a chance you're not a Nobody, right?"

"That would be true…" Roxas said, looking up at Sora. "If the person who I was created from hadn't been restored just moments after he lost his heart."

There was a brief pause as all the puzzle pieces aligned perfectly. Yukiko and Pyra shot their gaze at the boy sitting across from them. Suddenly it all made sense. Why Sora was here, why he and Roxas felt so similar, why Roxas couldn't remember anything, why they had to learn so much about Sora before explaining what Roxas was.

"You…You're…"

"Yeah…I'm Sora's Nobody. I'm just a husk, an empty shell that only exists because someone else lost their heart." Roxas said, raising his head and giving a somber smile. "Like I said in the beginning…If not for Sora, I would've never existed in the first place."

* * *

Kimihito didn't know what to think when he did his usual checkup on Roxas, only to see his bed occupied with three more bodies. Currently, he was staring down at them in confusion before his gazed trailed up to the slime feelers attached to each of their heads. At a first glance, he thought they were just cutely resting on the bed together…but the fact that Suu had her feeler attached to them was a bit concerning.

He knew about Suu's strange ability to read minds, but he didn't know the extent of her powers. From what it looked like, she was trying to show them what Roxas was dreaming about. His only reason to be concerned was the fact that no one woke up when he knocked on the door.

"Hey…" he said, walking over to the bed. "Um…Can you guys hear me?"

There was no response. Everyone looked as if they were asleep, but Kimihito was wondering if something happened. They still didn't know why Roxas wasn't waking up, so what if Suu was unintentionally harming them? What if they were also being affected by whatever was going on with Roxas?

Feeling even more concerned, he reached down to the feeling resting on Pyra's head. His fingers barely touched the slimy appendage before Suu's emerald eyes snapped open.

"Kimihito!"

The Man in question jumped in fright as he turned to the slime, who was standing at the head of the bed. "Oh, Suu!" He gasped. "What's going on here? What are you doing?"

Suu paused for a few moments as she scrunched her face in thought. She had no idea how to explain what was going on at the moment. In fact, the only reason she was here right now was because she felt someone try to remove her feeler.

"Pyra, Yukiko, and Xion wanted to see what Roxas was dreaming about." Suu said finally with a smile. "They are with Roxas right now."

Kimihito blinked a few times in confusion as he glanced down at the sleeping girls. From what it sounded like, Suu was making them all dream the same thing.

"Are they ok?" he asked.

Suu cocked her head and nodded with a big smile. "Suu is was finally able to see Roxas's dreams again!" She said joyfully. "Suu thinks Roxas will wake up soon."

Kimihito's eyes widened a little when he heard the news. Of course, it was great news, but how did Suu know? Wasn't Roxas just dreaming?

"Why would those three want to see Roxas's dream?" he asked the slime.

"Because they were worried about Roxas." Suu said simply. "They wanted to see if they could help Roxas, so Suu showed them what he was dreaming about." Suu then broke off a fourth feeler and extended it to Kimihito. "Do you want to see Roxas?"

Kimihito stared at the feeler for a few moments. He was curious to see how this shared dream worked. But he was also cautious. He trusted Suu, but in case something happened, he didn't want to be trapped in an unconscious state.

"Maybe next time, Suu…" He said, reaching out his hand and patting her on the head. "Are you sure Roxas will wake up soon?"

Suu paused again before nodding slowly. "Suu doesn't know when…but it should be soon."

"And are you sure Yukiko, Pyra, and Xion are ok? You know Polt would kill me if anything happened to them, right?" he asked with a smile.

"Suu is positive they are ok." Suu said with a confident nod.

"Alright Suu, I'll be back in a couple hours to check up on everyone." Kimihito responded. He was still a bit worried…but he would trust Suu for now. She seemed so confident in her claim, that he didn't have the heart to not trust her.

"Thank you, Kimihito!" Suu said as she closed her eyes. Her very consciousness seemed to fade from reality as she entered the dream again.

For the human host, this was probably one of the strangest phenomenon's he'd seen in a long time.

* * *

No one noticed when Suu went unusually quiet as all were waiting for Yukiko's and Pyra's reaction to what Roxas just said. An explanation like this was far more complex than they were prepared for thought. From learning about different worlds, the invasion of heartless, the story of Sora, and the Origin of Roxas, Yukiko and Pyra were at there limit for how much their brains could take.

"A husk…Something that only exists because of…Sora…" Pyra whispered. She remembered what Lala kept saying about Roxas the entire week. Now she realized that the Dullahan's words actually held some merit. There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but everything was starting to fall into place.

"But…But you said you had amnesia!" Yukiko accused. "Did you lie?"

"Well…" Roxas said quietly. "Sort of. I don't have amnesia…I just don't have memories period."

"…What?"

"Yeah…When I met you Yukiko…" Roxas continued, glancing at his friend. "I only existed for about nine days."

It was like her brain short-circuited for a moment because all the Yeti could do was gape in disbelief.

Turning away from her, the Nobody lowered his head. "I never had the chance to learn about anything. I didn't know anything…I wasn't anything. When Kimihito assumed I had Amnesia, I just went with it because the other explanation was too complicated."

"Yeah…I get that now." Pyra said in understanding. If he tired to explain all this to them when they first met, she would have thought him bat-shit insane. But now that they were sitting here in this strange place, right across from the supposed person Roxas was created from…it was pretty solid proof. "But a few things still don't make sense to me."

"Just a few things?" Roxas asked in good humor.

"No, a shit load of things, but I've narrowed it down to some of the most important." Pyra said, playfully slapping him on the shoulder.

"What?" Roxas asked, glancing over at the Hellhound in surprise. So far, she was taking this rather well.

"You said Nobodies couldn't feel anything…but I look at you, and I don't see an emotionless shell."

"You saw it when we first met though."

Slowly, both Yukiko and Pyra nodded their heads. They remembered what it was like when they first met Roxas and how he didn't express much. He used to have the emotional capacity of a dead tree stump. It was only recently that he was starting to joke around with them, or get emotional in certain circumstances.

"True, but we don't see it now."

"I've noticed that too…" Roxas said. "I don't know why, but…the more time I spend around everyone, the more I begin to…feel." He placed a hand over his heart and clenched the fabric of his jacket. "It should be impossible, but I know for a fact that something is happening to me. It's like the more experiences I have, the more something grows within me."

Yukiko and Pyra glanced at each other as they continued to listen. Not only them, but Sora and Xion also leaned forward a bit to see what the Nobody would say next.

Roxas was trying to find a way to describe what was going on with himself. It was difficult to relay without making it to complex to understand. But after a few more moments of brainstorming, a way popped into his brain. Since he's been typing so much in his dream journal, he thought of an example that may help them understand.

"If I can describe it simply, imagine if Sora's entire life is like a Microsoft document. All the content of the document represents who Sora is, what he feels, his experiences, his connections, everything." Roxas started. "When he became a heartless, it was like someone cut all the content out of the document and left it completely blank. When Kairi restored him, the content was pasted into a new document, while the empty one still existed."

He watched the responses from his listeners to make sure they were on the same page. After getting a nod from them, he realized they were. It was a relatable analogy for Nobodies. The main difference was that most Nobodies only had the portion of their document cut out that dealt with emotions and identity, while the memories remain. Roxas literally lost everything.

"While Sora continued to add content to his new document, mine was left blank…empty…useless." Roxas continued. "It should've been thrown away because it didn't have any worth, but…as I continued to live, it's almost like I learned how to add content to the document. With every experience I had, every connection I created, every choice I made, I was increasing the rate which I added to the empty space. And eventually, additional hands started helping me write my own story." Roxas looked over at Yukiko, then Pyra. "I think the reason it's possible was because of you two."

"U-Us?" Yukiko asked, a blush spreading along her cheeks.

"I've learned so much about what it means to have a heart by spending time with my friends. Without them, I don't think I would be any different from the rest of Organization 13." He glanced over at Yukiko, then to Pyra again. "I know I said it before…but thank you. Thank you for giving me the chance to exist…and for the chance to grow a heart of my own. You'll never understand…how much it means to me."

Yukiko turned away from the nobody, biting her lower lip as she felt her heart melt into a puddle. She thought back on the time she spent around the Nobody and realized she did understand what he was talking about. When she first met him, he was so distant, so unexpressive, so hollow. But the more time she spent around him, the more he expressed himself. The change was so gradual that she had to actually think back in order to realize how much he'd changed. Even now, he was far less emotional than anyone she knew, but there was definitely an improvement from when they first met.

Pyra also realized this. She remembered acting so cold and outright antagonistic toward him when they first met, but he just brushed it off. He didn't care in the slightest, and now it made sense as to why. He literally didn't know how to be angry…Until she threatened Yukiko. Now she understood why he had no hesitation when he almost broke her wrists. Pyra threatened his only friend, one of the first people he'd made a connection with. The only response he could come up with was to cause Pyra pain. It was almost sad when the Hellhound thought about it. He literally had no experience with situations like that, so he resulted to basic instinct. Get rid of the threat.

Now, that instinct became part of his personality. Sure, Roxas held back in his strength against certain people, but still faced challenges head on. He was incredibly loyal to his friends and fought for there happiness, even if they didn't want it. Like when he told Kimihito about Pyra's situation with her Aunt. That was the only thing he could think of that might help.

Now…this being that wasn't supposed to exist, who was suppsoed to be emotionless, hollow, and empty, was thanking her for her friendship. He was treating her as if his connection to her was a piece of the key to his existence the whole time. He truly valued her.

"You…Asshole…" Pyra whispered, her face burning up in a vibrant blush. How dare he make her heart flutter like this. She was a badass hellhound for Gods sake! No one could get away with that without some punishment.

Roxas blinked a couple time and turned toward her, his eyebrows raised in confusion. Obviously, he didn't expect that response. But he didn't have time to wonder if he said something wrong because Pyra grabbed the collar of his coat and tugged him down, pressing her lips against his own.

All mouths dropped open in shock as Pyra blatantly made out with the stunned Nobody in full view of everyone. She lingered there for a good ten seconds before releasing him, leaving him a blushing mess and totally speechless. Her dark cheeks also burned red, but she turned away.

"I warned you what I'd do if you kept saying that mushy shit."

"…Wow." Sora said, his eyes wide and face red.

"P-Pyra! That's not fair!" Yukiko whined as she pulled Roxas away from the Hellhound.

"Hey, just because you don't have the guts to do it doesn't mean I don't." Pyra responded with a smirk, licking her lips sensually.

"O-Oh yeah?!" Yukiko challenged, grasping the poor nobody's head and pulling him in for a kiss. Her face was burning red from embarrassment, but there was no way she was going to let Pyra get ahead of her.

"Holy cow…" Sora said, his face turning a darker shade of crimson. It was one thing to see them act this way towards Roxas in fragmented dreams, it was another thing to see it in person. But even then, they didn't go this far.

Yukiko wasn't holding back this time, pulling him close and really deepening the kiss. She'd read plenty of romance novels and manga, so she had an idea of how to kiss…sort of…but this was new to her too. After a good fifteen seconds, she finally released him.

"Wow, didn't think you had it in you." Pyra grinned.

Yukiko ignored her as she pulled away from the Nobody. She was a little worried because she didn't know how Roxas would react. Since he didn't kiss back, she was concerned that he didn't like it…or worse…didn't want it.

However, that thought changed when she saw the look in his eyes. His face was bright red and his eyes were swirling, completely unfocused. She would've laughed if she didn't feel a little bad. Of course, he wouldn't kiss back because he didn't know how! He probably didn't even know why his body was reacting like this. Roxas had hormone like every other boy, even if he didn't have memories and only existed for…

For…How long did Roxas say he was alive for again?

"Wait..." Yukiko said, staring down at Roxas. "Did I…did I just make out with a three-month-old boy?"

"…"

There was a small pause before Pyra howled in laughter. She fell on her back, kicking her legs into the air. Her reaction seemed to cause a chain reaction as everyone else started laughing hysterically. The tense atmosphere from before completely evaporated. Soon, everyone was wailing in laughter. Yukiko was clinging onto Roxas's shoulder, laughing her ass off while Pyra was on his other side, clutching her stomach and rolling around on the floor.

Sora was trying to stifle his laughter, but he couldn't help it. Suu's consciousness had returned a little bit ago and was also giggling, though she didn't quite understand the humor. Xion was also laughing a bit, though not as much because her situation was probably even more strange than Roxas's.

Hopefully, she would get her turn to reveal her origin soon. This kind of atmosphere was perfect for it.

"Oh my God! That was too funny Yukiko!" Pyra gasped, using Roxas's shoulder to pull herself upright. "In any other situation, I would have said yes…but he was created from someone who's our age…so it's ok, right? We're not…Robbing a cradle, are we?"

"You kinda are…" Sora said with a grin.

"Oh, shut up!" Pyra pointed her claws at him in a playfully threatening way.

"This is just a really weird situation." Yukiko said, using Roxas's other shoulder to keep herself upright. "I'm just not gonna think about it."

Roxas glanced between his two friends. Now that everything had calmed down, he couldn't help but smile a little. He expected a lot of things when he revealed his status as a Nobody, but this was far from it. He didn't expect such affection from his two friends and for them to joke about the whole ordeal. There wasn't any scrutiny, any looks of disgust, or even any change in their attitude at all. Nothing. They accepted it and acted completely the same.

"You…You're ok with it?" Roxas said.

"Ok with what?" Yukiko asked curiously.

"With what I am…I mean, I'm not even supposed to exist."

"Well yeah…" Pyra said, placing a paw on his shoulder. "But you do. What, did you really think we would care?"

"…"

"Roxas!" Yukiko exclaimed dramatically. "You do realize you live on a world where so many different species Co-exist with each other. Why did you think we would care at all about what you were?"

"…Because that's what I was told in the beginning." Roxas said honestly.

"By an Organization with the emotional capacity of a pet rock?" Pyra asked sarcastically.

"Point taken." Roxas said as he exhaled a huge amount of air. A large smile spread over his face. "Wow…it feels like a huge load off my shoulders to finally tell you two. I wanted to for so long."

"And it's about damn time!" Pyra growled playfully. "You really kept us waiting you know."

"Do you blame me? I mean, without Sora…" Roxas said, gesturing to his somebody. "I wouldn't know how to explain any of this."

"I have to admit, it is convenient we're here and actually staring directly at…him." Yukiko said, pointing at Sora. "Otherwise…I don't know if I could fully believe you."

"Well said Yukiko." Pyra agreed before she cast a glance at Xion, who was curiously quiet the entire time. "So…I guess you're a Nobody as well?"

"…Actually…no." Xion said. Seeing how they reacted the reveal of Roxas being a nobody, it really put Xion at ease. She was actually looking forward to this now. "I was a member of Organization 13…but I wasn't a Nobody."

"Really? Then what are you?" Pyra asked with a grin. "No, let me guess…an advanced Robot AI! With everything else we've heard today, I don't think I can get surprised again."

"I'm not a robot…I'm actually a puppet like Lala said."

"Lala?" Roxas asked.

"We'll tell you later." Yukiko said, wanting to hear more about Xion's story. "So, what does that mean? Please don't make it too complicated. I don't think my brain can handle anymore world-shattering reveals."

Xion bit her lower lip in slight amusement. "Then I probably shouldn't say anything."

"Oh, forget her then!" Pyra rebuffered, looking eager for an explanation. "I want to know right now!"

"Ok…I mean, if you're sure." Xion said, wondering where she should start. "My story isn't as hard to explain now that you know about Sora and Roxas. To make a long story short, I was…created by a member of Organization 13."

"…"

Again, there was a long pause as Yukiko and Pyra absorbed this new information. Based on the looks on their faces, they didn't know if she meant it literally or not.

"And…what does that mean?" Pyra asked.

"It means exactly what I said." Xion said. "Since Roxas is the only one who can use the Keyblade in Organization 13, they created me…a puppet…who had the power to copy his ability to use the Keyblade." She finished as she stretched forth her hand and summoned the kingdom key again.

"…"

Yukiko and Pyra were dead wrong when they thought nothing could surprise them. But what else was to be expected when learning about the creation of life. Xion just casually told them she was created by a member of her former Organization, as if something like that was a common occurrence.

"So, let me get this straight. They just created you? How?" Yukiko asked frantically.

"I don't remember how…in fact, I'm even younger than Roxas." Xion said, nearly laughing at the expressions on Yukiko and Pyra's face. "Only by a few days though."

"This is…This is too much!" Yukiko exclaimed, grasping her head dramatically. "Ok, I get it, you three are from different worlds, fine. So, there are evil creatures called heartless tearing apart the worlds, understood. What's that? Roxas is a creature called a Nobody? A being created from a person who lost their heart? I'll accept that. But now you're telling me you were just CREATED by someone in your former Organization? They just create life at the drop of a hat? Is that what I'm hearing?"

"…. Yes…" Xion said meekly.

"AUUUUGH!"

"I feel a headache coming along." Pyra said, rubbing her forehead. "So essentially, you and Roxas are like two or three months old?"

"Give or take." Roxas said with a smile.

"This is just insane." The hellhound murmured. "Any other mind-breaking reveals you want to get out of the way?"

"Well…" Sora said, scratching the back of his head.

"I was joking, Damn it!" Pyra cursed, causing the group of friends to laugh.

Sora was chuckling again as he listened to Roxas's friends react to all this new information. He remembered when he first ended up on Traverse Town after Destiny Island was consumed. It was quite amazing to realize he was on a whole new world, so he could only imagine what it was like for these two having all this information dumped on them.

"This organization 13…they must be really powerful…" Yukiko murmured. "You guys keep mentioning them…but you never talk about them much. Why did you leave them in the first place?" She looked over at Roxas. "I remember when you disappeared a month ago and came back with Xion and Axel. You said something about Organization 13…"

"Oh yeah! You said they were doing something you didn't agree with." Pyra finished, nodding her head. "What was that all about? Why did you leave them in the first place?"

"That…" Roxas started.

"I can answer that." Xion interrupted, causing everyone to look at her. "Organization 13…they are a group of Nobodies who want to be whole. Their leader promised their existence if they helped him collect hearts from the heartless."

"Oh…So you mean destroy the heartless?" Yukiko asked.

"Precisely." Xion said. "It was the main reason I was created. Roxas's Keyblade was the only weapon we had that could harvest the hearts from the heartless. They created me so they could…be more productive…I guess."

"Oh…" Yukiko felt a little sad for the puppet. It seemed her entire purpose for existence was being used by this organization. "So, they want to destroy the heartless? Why is that a bad thing?"

"Usually that wouldn't be a problem…" Xion said. "If the Organization wasn't flooding the worlds with heartless in order to gather more hearts."

Yukiko and Pyra's mouth dropped open in horror.

"W-What?" Pyra gasped. "But didn't you say only Ansem could do that?"

"Not exactly." Sora interjected. "I actually defeated Ansem a while back…but the heartless follow the strongest. Since Ansem was no longer around, the leader or Organization 13 took over in commanding them and continued spreading the influence of Darkness."

"You're kidding me!" Yukiko said. "Why would they do something so evil?"

"Because they don't feel anything." Xion continued. "They don't feel guilt for what they're doing. They want to exist and will do anything to make it happen."

"That's…horrible…" Yukiko said sadly. "Even if they don't feel anything…they should still know it's wrong."

"That's why Axel and I left the Organization." Xion said. "Axel may still be a nobody, but he knows what they are doing is evil. He remembers his past and was a good person. Truthfully, we were only members because the Organization would have destroyed us if we left."

"But…You did leave." Pyra's eyes widened when she realized what Xion was getting at."

"Yeah…" Xion said, glancing over at Roxas with a smile. "When we met up with Roxas, he offered us a place to hide where the influence of darkness hasn't touched yet. Your world."

"Oh…" Yukiko whispered as everything started to fall into place again. "So you, Roxas, and Axel are like fugitives to your own organization."

"Yes." Xion and Roxas said with a somber smile.

"And any day, they could find you here."

"Well…" Roxas paused. "It's possible, but no one knows where this world is. Space is infinite, so there's a possibility that they may never find it."

"Well, that's a relief." Yukiko signed. "Let's hope it stays that way."

"Yeah, I hope so too." Xion agreed.

Roxas and Sora glanced at each other, wondering if they would have to talk about there discussion before everyone else showed up. Organization 13 may never find this world, but that didn't mean they could be ignored. Eventually, Sora and Roxas would have to stop them.

"This is simply incredible." Pyra said. "I never thought I would hear things like this from people who traveled to different worlds. I'm going to need a long time to fully wrap my head around it."

"I agree with you." Yukiko nodded.

"There is a lot of other amazing things out there in space." Sora said with a smile. "Entire worlds covered in water, worlds of sand, floating castles, you name it."

"Floating…Castles…" Yukiko murmured as she slowly looked over at Roxas. "That picture from the festival…"

Roxas scratched the back of his head bashfully. "I might have used the Corridor of Darkness and took pictures of sunsets on different worlds."

"…You CHEATER!" Yukiko exclaimed, playfully slapping him on the shoulder.

"So, all those pictures, they were on different worlds?" Pyra asked. "They looked so much like ours though."

"Most worlds do look the same, honestly." Sora responded with a shrug. "Like I said, a lot of worlds are very similar to each other, while some are way different."

"You're so devious Roxas! It's like you were giving us small hits about being from a different world this whole time." Yukiko accused.

"I never expect you to ever guess that I was."

"Alright, a lot of my questions have been answered." Pyra said before looking around. "Now one of the last things I want to know is what happened…Why did you fall asleep Roxas? Why won't you wake up?"

"Ah, that would be my fault…Sorry." Sora said, catching Yukiko and Pyra's attention. Both he and Roxas knew where this question would lead the conversation.

"Ok…How?"

"Well…You know how Roxas and I are connected, right?" Sora asked, waiting for Pyra and Yukiko to nod. "Well, because he's my nobody, we share a strange…physic connection. Let's just say, I got hurt…really badly…and because of that, Roxas was affected…"

"…"

Great…another mind breaking reveal.

"So, not only do we learn about different worlds, dark creatures, nobodies, puppets, and a murderous Organization, but now we learn about physic connections across worlds…" Pyra summarized.

"…Sorry…" Roxas said, shrugging bashfully.

"Where's a brick wall I can slam my head against?" Yukiko asked. "So, whatever happens to you happens to Roxas?"

"Not really on that level…" Sora said. "I was just defeated so badly that Roxas was affected. I…almost died to be honest."

"What happened?" Pyra asked.

Sora paused and glanced at Roxas. He wasn't sure if his nobody wanted his friends to know about there previous discussion. It would cause a bit of drama for them. Roxas pursed his lips because his mind was on the same track. He wasn't sure if he wanted to let Pyra and Yukiko know.

Unfortunately, the Hellhound was more observant than they gave her credit for.

"Roxas, you aren't thinking of keeping something from us, are you?" Pyra asked in her sickly-sweet voice. He could feel her digging her claws into his shoulder.

"Yeah, you wouldn't do that, right?" Yukiko asked from his other side.

It was easy to tell how much trouble he would be in if he didn't let them know. Realizing this, Roxas just waved to Sora in approval.

"You sure Roxas?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. I promised to tell them everything. Even if I didn't know about it until today, I think it's best if we get it out in the open." He responded.

Yukiko and Pyra looked at him in confusion, there eyebrows scrunched at the tone in his voice.

"Well…If you're sure." Sora said as he addressed the two monster girls. "My friends and I found out about Organization 13 and what they were doing. I attacked them on my own. But…they were too strong and I was completely destroyed."

"Why would you attack them on your own?" Pyra asked.

"Because…I had to see if I was strong enough to fight them…at half strength."

Yukiko glanced over at Pyra, an eyebrow raised before turning back to Sora.

"Ok…What does that even mean?" The Yeti asked.

"Well…You know how I said when someone loses their heart, a heartless and a nobody are created, right?"

"Yeah…"

"The heartless takes half of the person's power and the nobody take the other half. When I was restored, I took the half that belonged to my heartless…" Sora paused. "And the other half went to my Nobody."

It was really easy to put the pieces together as Yukiko and Pyra glanced over at Roxas. The nobody had his head tilted just enough to hide the expression on his face.

"So…You're saying that Roxas holds half of your power…" Pyra summed up.

"Yeah. My power was what created his existence. If, for any reason, he was to give it back…he would have to disappear." Sora finished, assuming the same position as Roxas.

Everyone's eyes widened at this little tidbit of information. Yukiko was glancing between Roxas and Sora frantically, her mind processing at one thousand miles per second. Pyra was the same way, but her eyes narrowed at Sora. She grasped Roxas's sleeve with one paw before extending her claws protectively.

"Is that why Roxas is here? Did you call him here after you were defeated so you could kill him and get your power back?" She growled, her eyes glowing with anger and licks of fire bursting from her eyelashes.

"What-NO!" Sora said, frantically waving his arms. "The only reason Roxas is here is because of our connection."

"Pyra…Calm down." Roxas said, reaching up and placing his hand on her paw before lowering it. "Sora and I already talked about it. He has no interest in regaining his lost power, not if it means having to kill me."

"How do you know that for certain?" Pyra asked suspiciously.

Roxas smiled as he glanced over at the person responsible for his existence. "Because he is me. Ever since I was created, I've had this strange ability to see his life and learn the kind of person Sora is. He could never bring himself to do something like that."

"And that connection goes both ways." Sora continued as he scratched the back of his head. "Ever since I met Roxas a while back, I've been able to see pieces of his life too. It's kinda how I knew your name Pyra…and Yours as well, Yukiko."

"Is that true Roxas?" Yukiko asked.

"Yeah. You remembered a while back when we were held up at the manga store?" Roxas asked, waiting for Yukiko and Pyra to nod. "You remember what I said about learning magic?"

Their eyebrows scrunched, trying to remember his explanation. They didn't remember what he said too well, only that it didn't make much sense at the time.

"You said something about learning magic through your dreams. That you were dreaming about someone else and…Oh…" Yukiko said, a sudden light bulb turning on in her head.

"I learned about magic because I was having small visions of Sora's life. I didn't think it had anything to do with me, but I just tried using magic…and it worked."

Pyra grasped her head in frustration, throwing Roxas a small glare. "So, you were dropping small hits here and there, but without any context it wouldn't make sense."

"Right…" Roxas confirmed. "Which was why I didn't talk much about it. How was I supposed to explain all of this to you when I didn't even know myself?"

"True..." Pyra conceded.

"Now that you know why I'm here, how did you all end in the Dive to Heart?" Roxas asked, gesturing to the surrounding area.

"That was here fault." Yukiko said, pointing over at Suu. The Slime was smiling widely, one of her feelers still curled around Sora's arm. "She said she could see you again and we asked her to link up our minds so we could see what you were dreaming about. We didn't think we'd end up in here."

"Wow…" Roxas said, glancing over at the happy slime. "That's really cool Suu. I didn't know you could do that."

"Suu didn't think so either." Suu said with a joyous smile.

"So now what?" Pyra asked. "I still have a lot of questions, but I don't think my mind can take anymore right now."

"Me either." Yukiko agreed. "I have a lot to think about."

Sora chuckled as he crossed his arms. "For now, Roxas and I are going to train. I need to regain the power I lost when I became a heartless and eventually take down Organization 13."

"You AND Roxas will train?" Yukiko asked with an eyebrow raised.

Roxas nodded. "I promised to help defeat Organization 13 when the time comes."

"Wait…What? You're going to fight them?" Yukiko asked in shock.

"I have to. I can't keep sitting back and letting entire worlds die. I ran away from the Organization and they're looking for me. While it's unlikely, it's still possible that they may find this world one day." Roxas said. "So, I agreed to help Sora when he's ready to fight again."

"And when will this happen?" Pyra asked, a little worry in her voice.

"I…Don't know." Sora said honestly. "I need to increase my training with the King, Diz, and Yen Sid. They might have an idea of how long it will take for me to be strong enough to match the Organization. It could be a couple months, or even a year at most."

"So, Roxas will have to leave and fight against these powerful people?" Yukiko asked. "And… you're making him do this?"

"Sora isn't making me do anything." Roxas interrupted before Sora could say anything. "I asked to help because I was the one who stole his power. He didn't even want me involved because I never chose to be his Nobody. I didn't ask for the Keyblade. But I can't sit around and do nothing while Sora fights alone."

Pyra and Yukiko looked as if they wanted to protest, but they also knew how stubborn Roxas could be when he set his mind to something. It didn't stop them from worrying though.

"Don't worry. By the time Sora is ready to fight, we should be strong enough to take them down." Roxas said, trying to reassure them.

"But what if you don't come back?" Yukiko asked, securing his arm in her bosom. "What if you aren't strong enough and they kill you?"

"That…" Roxas bit his lower lip because that was a definite possibility. Members of the Organization were powerful, the most powerful of the Nobodies. "I don't know what to say…"

"I'll tell you what to say," Pyra growled. "Say you'll come back! Promise you won't die!"

"But…I might…" Roxas said honestly. "The members of Organization 13 are powerful."

"Then don't go! If you can't promise to come back, then don't you dare fight them." Pyra hissed.

"I can't do that either!" Roxas said loudly. "Don't you get it? Organization 13 is dumping heartless into so many worlds to find me! How many more people need to die so I can keep going to school and have fun with my friends? How many worlds need to be destroyed by the darkness while I hide like a coward? How is that fair? What will happen if the Heartless eventually find this world and attacked people like Polt, or Kimihito, or anyone we care about? It would be my fault because I didn't do anything!"

Yukiko and Pyra flinched as his volume rose unexpecting. His words hurt. No matter how true they were, they hurt to hear. In a really sad way, they could understand what he was saying. They couldn't imagine the guilt he must feel every day because of the cost of hiding out on their world.

"But…" Yukiko said, tears forming in her eyes.

"How are we supposed to argue with that?" Pyra asked bitterly. "It's not fair…"

"…"

There was nothing Roxas could say. He could only reach over and wrap one arm around the Hellhounds shoulder and pull her close. It surprised Pyra a bit because he rarely initiated physical contact, but she rested her body against him.

"Sorry…"

"Don't apologize, damn it…" Pyra whispered. "Just…Come back safe, and we won't have an issue."

There was a brief moment of silence for the trio of friends as they simply relished in each other's company. Roxas reached over and wrapped his other arm around Yukiko, who also melted into his embrace.

"…Well…you don't have to worry about him leaving quite yet." Sora said. "We still need to get stronger before fighting them again."

"But for how long?" Yukiko asked, pressing her body into Roxas's side. "A few months is really short."

"You're talking like I'm going to die." Roxas laughed. "It won't be that easy to kill me."

"But it's still possible." Yukiko said sadly.

"Yeah…but I promise I'll do everything in my power to come back." Roxas said, trying to give some semblance of hope.

It helped…a little.

Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever. The darkness that surrounded them began to light up. Everyone snapped there gaze upward to see light breaking through he darkness and consuming everything in sight.

"Well…" Sora said as he stood. "It looks like they finished healing me. I think we're about to wake up."

"Huh? Really?" Roxas asked, standing up along with everyone else. He glanced over to see the light absorbing the surrounding darkness, slowly making its way towards there tower. "I guess it is."

"Roxas is waking up?" Yukiko asked in excitement. She was still worried about the whole ordeal, but decided to put those matters to rest for now. There would be plenty of time to talk about it later.

"Oh boy, you have a shit-ton of homework to catch up on, Roxas." Pyra teased.

"Oh…goodie." Roxas responded dryly.

"Roxas…" Sora said, turning toward the group of friends. "Are you sure you want to help me?"

"I am." Roxas said without a hint of hesitation. "I need to."

"Alright…I will let you know as soon as possible how long before we fight the Organization again." Sora said, walking over to him. He extended his hand to the Nobody. "And thank you. We'll need all the help we can get."

Roxas smiled as he grasped Sora's hand. "It's the least I can do. It's because of you that I even exist."

"It wasn't just me…" Sora said, glancing over at Yukiko and Pyra. "The heart growing within you…it's being nurtured by the connections you've made. As time goes on, it will continue to grow until you finally, truly exist."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's what my heart is telling me." Sora said. He was about to take a step away before he felt two soft arms wrap around his midsection. He blinked a couple times in confusion when he realized one of Roxas's companions was giving him a hug.

"Um…"

"Thank you…" Yukiko said tearfully, squeezing him a bit before letting go. "Thank you for letting him stay with us. Thank you for not…trying to get your power back."

Sora opened and closed his mouth a few times before giving her a smile. "Of course."

"Hey!" Pyra said, shooting him a stern look. "If you ever find yourself on our world someday…stop by. We can all go for some ice cream, or something."

"…I would like that a lot." Sora said with a smile.

"Suu, get us out of here." Pyra said, looking over at the slime.

Suu gave a wide smile before nodding. Instantly, Pyra, Yukiko, and Xion all disappeared from the Dive to Heart, leaving Sora and Roxas standing there alone.

As the light continued to consume the area, Sora gave Roxas a grin. "You have really good friends."

"Yeah…I do."

"Maybe I should try to find your world. It would be fun to…" Sora trailed off as something behind Roxas caught his attention. "What's that!?"

Turning around, Roxas saw what Sora was looking at. His eyes widened when he realized someone else was standing right behind him.

Someone that looked exactly like Roxas.

The person had a somber smile on his face and gave them a small nod. He reached forward and rested a hand on Roxas's shoulder.

"One day, I'd like to meet you two as well."

White pain throbbed through Roxas's skull, but before he could retaliate, the light enveloped them in its warmth.

* * *

Xion felt her senses returning just as Suu retracted her feeler. Roxas's soft heartbeat resounded in her ear as she slowly opened her eyes. The cold sensation of Suu's feeler left the top of her head and Xion craned her neck in order to look around. The moon was shining brightly through the window, signifying that night had fallen while they were in the Dive to Heart. Not a sound was hear through the entire house which meant that it was past their bedtime and everyone was asleep.

Glancing over at the other occupants in the bed, Yukiko and Pyra still had their eyes closed as if they were sleeping, but as she glanced up at Roxas, she saw him slowly waking up.

Relief flooded through her veins as she saw his crystal blue eyes gazing up at the celling. It meant that everything that transpired in the Dive to Heart actually happened. Pyra and Yukiko knew everything about them now.

And they didn't care.

In fact, when they learned about Xion's backstory, it barely gave them any pause at all. She felt a little foolish thinking they would see her any differently because of what she was. And how they reacted to Roxas was just as indifferent. To them, it was just some cool information, nothing more.

Xion couldn't be happier when she realized that.

"Hey…Roxas." The puppet said, looking up at him.

Roxas scrunched his eyes and looked down at the girl on his chest. A confused look crossed his face before he gave a small grin. "And I was wondering why I couldn't move. I thought my body was just stiff from being asleep for a week. What are you doing there?"

"There was no other place to lay down." Xion said honestly. Though she would admit, it was comfortable.

"So, all that really did happen." Roxas said, his head flopping back on the pillow so he could look up at the celling. "…I'm starving."

Xion giggled as she pulled herself closer to his face. "Roxas…do you really plan on helping Sora with Organization 13?"

Roxas looked down at her again, noticing how close their faces were. "Yeah…"

"Then…I'll help too." She said with a bit of determination. "I'll train with you and we'll get strong together."

"…Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! Just like you, I can't continue to hide. My Keyblade might be a copy…a fake, but it's still a Keyblade."

"Then…let's get strong together." Roxas said, seeing no reason why she couldn't. He tried to move his arms, but they were firmly stuck beneath the other two occupants. He glanced over to see Yukiko and Pyra still had their eyes closed, sleeping away. Like Xion, Roxas felt an immense weight lift off his shoulders. They knew about him now, and they didn't care that he was a nobody. Nothing had changed between them.

"They were really worried about you." Xion said softly, puling herself a little closer. "We all were."

"…I'm sorry." Roxas said, turning to look at Xion again. Her face was so close that he could feel her breath on his nose. "I…don't think it will happen again."

"We missed you…I missed you a lot…" She said, a small blush crossing her cheeks as she crawled a little closer. Her vision zeroed in on his lips. She had seen Pyra and Yukiko kiss him in the Dive to Heart and was curious why they did it. Just like Roxas, she didn't quite understand the significance of the act. Was it something friends did to each other? Did it have some kind of special meaning? Thinking back to when they kissed Roxas, she couldn't think of an exact reason why. They just…did it.

The little puppet couldn't explain her own reasoning either as she pulled herself closer.

"Xion?" Roxas managed to say before Xion lightly pecked his lips, just to test the tides. A small shivered traveled down her spine as she felt his soft lips against her own. It was…strange, unlike anything she'd ever felt before. What were these different emotions welling up in her stomach? Why was her face and body heating up? Why was she tempted to try it again?

"X-Xion…"

The puppet blinked a couple times before looking up at Roxas. His eyes were wide with surprise and his face was just as red as hers. She could feel his increased heartbeat thumping against her chest while hers did the same. Seeing that she could cause such a reaction was…exciting. Was this why Pyra and Yukiko did it?

The puppet didn't know, but she wanted to learn more. She wanted to understand what these feeling meant. So, she leaned down and pressed her lips against his again, this time letting them linger there for a few moments.

"Um…Xion?"

Xion pulled away from Roxas quickly and glanced over to see Yukiko, her eyes wide in shock. Her face also supported a blush.

"W-What are you doing?" The Yeti stuttered.

"…Kissing…" Xion said simply. She was a little curious as to why Yukiko was so surprised by it. Didn't she do the exact same thing?

"Yeah, I see that…but why?"

"Because you and Pyra did…I…wanted to see what it was like." Xion responded innocently. "I…kinda like it. Is that why you and Pyra do it?"

Yukiko gaped like a fish. After learning that the puppet was only a couple months old, she knew it would be pretty dumb to get angry. Both she and Roxas were just starting to understand the basics of existing. When it came to romance, not even the Yeti could understand it very well.

But that didn't mean she couldn't get jealous. She already had competition with Pyra! This was beginning to look a lot like the situation with Kimihito.

"It does feel really nice."

Xion, Yukiko, and Roxas glanced over to see a grinning hellhound resting her head on the nobody's shoulder. She didn't seem that bothered by what Xion did at all. In fact, she found it amusing. "But making out is just the tip of the iceberg. Just wait until you learn about Se-"

"PYRA!"

Pyra just snickered at the clueless looks on Roxas and Xion's faces. The poor kids still didn't have a clue what they were talking about. One day, that would be a really fun conversation…but for now, she was too tired to explain the birds and the bees. Glancing out the window, the Hellhound saw the night sky. "Wow…It's already dark outside? How long were we in there?"

"It's been a few hours…" Suu said, causing everyone to look up at her. She was smiling down at them from the head of the bed. "Suu is happy nothing went wrong…"

"Yeah, we all are." Yukiko said, snuggling up closer to the nobody and letting out a yawn. She'd put her jealousy aside for now because she was so tired. "So, I guess there won't be any fainting spells for a while?"

Roxas chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Not unless Sora decides to attack Organization 13 again on his own again."

Everyone paused for a moment. With that exchange of words, everything they experienced was just confirmed as reality. Which means everything they learned was true. It was a lot to take in and the entire conversation left them mentally exhausted.

"Speaking of which…" Pyra said. "How is Sora going to contact you and let you know when he plans on fighting again?"

"It might be through our dreams. That's how Sora contacted me the first time. He figured out our connection, and tried sending a message…and it worked."

"…Ok…That's still really weird to hear." Pyra said before she frowned. "You will tell us when he contacts you, right?"

"Yeah. I promised, didn't I? I promised there wouldn't be any secrets between us anymore." Roxas said.

"Good!" Pyra said before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. Her eyes widened a little when she saw how many times Polt called. "Oh boy…"

Yukiko did the same thing and saw a large number of missed calls from the same kobold.

"Yukiko…um…you'd be my best friend if you called my Auntie…" Pyra said weakly.

"Not on your life!" Yukiko snapped, putting her phone away.

"Well, it was worth a shot. Some friend you are!" Pyra said dramatically as she dialed her aunts' number. Even though the phone wasn't on speaker, everyone could hear Polt's frantic voice through the phone.

"Auntie! Calm down and breath!" Pyra said. "I'm ok, nothing happened."

"…..!...!"

"Oh…Kimihito told you about that huh?" Pyra said sheepishly. "He must have come in while we were unconscious."

"He did." Suu confirmed with a nod.

"….!...!.!.!"

"Don't worry about it. What we did wasn't dangerous. In fact, I think it even helped a little."

"…!..."

"Yeah, Roxas actually woke up."

"!"

"It might be better if you come by tomorrow Auntie." Pray laughed. "You sound exhausted. How long were you planning on staying up? You have a gym to run."

"…"

"Don't worry, Yukiko is alright too. Sorry we worried you."

"…"

"Yeah, I think we'll crash here tonight. We'll come back in the morning since we don't have school tomorrow." Pyra said, glancing over at Yukiko. "I think Yukiko will agree with me."

"Of course!"

"…!"

"…Aren't you supposed to be a responsible adult and tell me NOT to do something like that?" Pyra asked dryly, a small blush on her face. "Besides, he just woke up after sleeping for a week. He wouldn't be very energetic."

"..!...!"

"I'm hanging up now Auntie. I'll let Roxas know you're going to Glomp him when you see him next."

"…."

"Night." Pyra finished as she hung up the phone. She gave Roxas a look of longsuffering. "Brace yourself tomorrow because Auntie says she's got a weeks' worth of affection to make up for."

"Oh goodie…"

"No complaining Roxas!" Yukiko said, giving him a playful slap on the arm as she yawned again. Her eyes were a bit droopy because she was tired. After learning so much, everyone wanted to sleep. "You worried all of us for an entire week. Be prepared for some *Yawn* serious cuddles from everyone."

Roxas gave a sigh as he tried to sit up, only to realize that he couldn't because of the three additional bodies pinning him down. "Um…Can you let me up?"

"Where are you going?" Pyra asked, her eyes droopy as well.

"I've been asleep for almost a week." Roxas said flatly. "I'm starving and restless. Don't forget, a lot of the things you learned today, I learned as well. I…need to clear my mind."

"How long will you be gone?" Yukiko asked, pulling herself a little closer. She just got him back and didn't want him gone for too long.

"Maybe a couple hours. I just…need to sort some things out."

Xion sat up and maneuvered herself off of the bed before stretching her arms to the celling. "I agree with Roxas. There are some things I need to sort out too." She said, turning to her friends and giving them a smile. "I'm going to bed. Maybe we can talk about it more in the morning…If Roxas survives the onslaught of affection tomorrow." She gave one last smile as she exited the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

"You're all talking like I had any choice when I fell asleep." Roxas said.

"You didn't, but it didn't stop anyone from worrying." Yukiko reminded him.

Roxas rolled his eyes as he tried to sip up again. He felt less resistance this time as his two friends allowed it. Crawling off the bed, he also stretched his arms into the air before plucking out the IV. After not moving for an entire week, everyone could hear various joints pop. Roxas even scrunched his nose when he gave the pajama top a good sniff.

Yukiko laughed while watching him. "Kimihito didn't change your cloths the entire week."

"Just be glad you didn't shit yourself when you were sleeping." Pyra added.

"Yeah, I am." Roxas said as he rummaged through his clothing drawer before finding another pair of pajamas. "I think I'll get a bite to eat and take a bath. That might relax me enough to sleep."

"Ok!" Yukiko asked.

"I'll be back in a couple hours. You two don't have to stay awake and wait for me." Roxas said before pausing. "Where are you two sleeping tonight?"

"Right here!" Pyra said, patting the bed. "We need to get changed and…might as well take a bath too. We'll keep the bed warm for when you get back."

Roxas blinked a couple times before shrugging. It wasn't the first time they'd slept in the same bed, so he didn't think much of it. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Suu will come with you!" Suu said. "Suu is thirsty."

Roxas nodded as he and Suu exited the room. The nobody walked by the bathroom and put his spare sleepwear there before making his way down the hall and into the kitchen. Suu was followed close behind.

* * *

It was dead quiet, but Roxas could hear the slight tapping of a keyboard as he approached the kitchen. Someone was still awake it seemed.

As he rounded the corner, he saw Kimihito sitting at the kitchen table, tapping away on his laptop. It looked like he was doing some budgeting or something because his face was courted in concentration. He didn't even look up from the laptop as Roxas entered the Kitchen.

"Couldn't sleep?" Roxas asked curiously as he walked by the refrigerator and opened it. Suu skipped over to the sink and pored herself a tall glass of water.

Kimihito gave a sigh as he reached up and rubbed his tired eyes. He let a loud yawn escape his mouth. "Not really. I'm too worried about Yukiko, Pyra, and Xion. I don't know what they were thinking when they decided to let Suu link up their minds to yours. I mean, do you realize how worried Polt was when I…" He trailed off as his exhausted brain suddenly registered something seriously out of place. His neck snapped over to where Roxas was standing before his eyes widened dramatically. "R-Roxas…"

"Hey…" Roxas said awkwardly. The nobody was hoping he could sneak some food, take a bath, and go to bed without causing an incident…but it seemed fate had other plans. "Um…I'm sorry I worried you."

"Roxas!" said, though in a hushed voice. He stood from his chair and rushed over to him, grasping his shoulders. "You're…you're awake! How do you feel? Are you ok? What happened?"

"…That…Is a really, REALLY long story." Roxas said, suddenly wishing Kimihito was also there in the Dive to Heart when he explained everything. The nobody trusted his host and knew he would take it well, but he didn't want to go over the entire thing again. Not tonight at least.

"Roxas…" Kimihito suddenly hugged the nobody, which surprised him. "I'm just glad you're ok. Everyone was worried sick about you. Are you sure you're alright? Do you need anything?"

Geeze…Kimihito was more like a doting mother than a big brother.

"Not really…I'm just a little hungry. I woke up a few moments ago."

"Ah! Well, there some leftovers in the refrigerator." Kimihito said before his eyebrows scrunched. "Roxas…"

Roxas had taken a plastic container of leftovers out of the fridge before putting it in the microwave. "yes?"

"…What happened? When I went to check up on you, Pyra, Yukiko, and Xion were…unconscious too." He pointed over at Suu. "Suu said they were talking to you in your sleep…is that…true?"

Roxas gave a sigh as he looked over at his host. To be honest, it would be extremely convenient for Kimihito to know everything. "It's really complicated…what happened." Roxas said, crossing his arms. "I…don't know how to explain it without being here all night."

"Suu can help with that!"

Kimihito and Roxas glanced over at the slime. She had a happy smile on her face as she gleefully sucked the water out of her glass.

"Suu?"

"Suu remembers everything that happened in the Dive to Heart. Suu could show Kimihito what Roxas talked about."

"You…can do that?" Roxas asked.

"Dive to Heart?" Kimihito's face showed nothing but confusion.

Suu nodded confidently. "Suu thinks she can. She did it on accident a few times before."

Roxas blinked as he looked over at his host. Kimihito was frantically looking between Suu and Roxas, still utterly lost.

"Kimihito…" Roxas said, his voice serious. "Do you really want to know? If you do…things might never be the same for you. I…I really like what we have here…but you also deserve to know after everything you've done for me."

Again, Kimihito looked even more confused than before…and a little scared. Roxas only used that tone of voice when he was deadly serious about something. However, despite being worried, there was also determined in the human's eyes. "What is going on, Roxas?"

The nobody nodded somberly as he glanced over at Suu. "Could you show him please?"

"Of course!" Suu said happily, about to attach her feeler to Kimihito's head.

"Wait!" Roxas said, halting the slime. He looked at his host. "You might want to be lying down because this is going to take a while. I'll answer any of your questions in the morning."

Kimihito paused for a moment before glancing at the slime, who still had her feeler hovering over his head. "C'mon Suu." He said as he closed his laptop and left the kitchen without another word.

Suu bounded after Kimihito as they retreated to his room, leaving Roxas alone in the kitchen, waiting for his meal to warm. He had faith that his host could handle this much information, and he really hoped it didn't change anything between them. The nobody doubted that it would, but there was always a possibility.

* * *

It was later in the night when Roxas finished eating and bathed himself. Truth to what he thought, he was decently relaxed now. His body felt clean and his pajamas smelled fresh. Maybe he could get some shut eye after all, which was strange because he'd been asleep for a long time.

As he entered his room, he could already hear the soft breathing of the other occupants. They were curled up on his bed, cuddling with each other as they slept.

One of Pyra's ears twitched as he approached and her deep, red eyes cracked open a centimeter. No words were said as she untangled herself from the Yeti, allowing room between them. The silent message was understood by the Nobody as he crawled into place.

As if acting on instinct, Yukiko was already snuggled up nice and close. Her face burned into his neck and her breasts pushed against this shoulder with one leg tangled around his.

"mmm…you smell good…" She murmured, adjusting herself to get more comfortable. Her body heat was already radiating off her and warmed both of them.

"You better...wake up...in the morning…" Pyra yawned as she took his other shoulder, resting a paw on his chest.

As of that moment, there was no other place in the universe Roxas would rather be than right there. His friends had accepted what he was without so much as a second thought. They cared about him, and he cared about them. He wanted nothing more than to protect them from the darkness if it ever managed to find its way to this world. And he would protect them. He would fight Organization 13 and rid the universe of them once and for all.

But he would worry about that another day. Right now, The Nobody just wanted to relish in the comfort of his friends.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Wow…This was a long chapter and had a TON of exposition in it. Some might say it was too much, but thanks for bearing with it. Things are moving along in this story and there will probably only be one more arc because the final arc commences, so I hope you enjoy what I have left. I really want to finish this story…I really do. But man is writing difficult sometimes. There will be some misspellings and grammar errors here and there because this chapter was over 18k words and 43 pages long. Uhg! I briefly thought about cutting it up into two chapters, but didn't want to leave you guys on another cliffhanger. So please leave a review for my act of generosity! Ha Ha!**

 **I know some people are going to say I got the KH Lore wrong, so before you review…I KNOW! The issue is, Sora and Roxas don't know the whole truth behind Ansem and Xehanort. They think Xehanort's heartless was Ansem and he was behind the heartless attacks, (Which he sort of was). That's why I gave that explanation regarding the heartless. So, don't comment on that because I KNOW!**

 **Anyway, I posted the first chapter of my new story. If you like Hunter x Hunter and My Hero Academia, check it out and leave a review if you enjoyed it.**

 **Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter of Blank Slate, can you leave a review please? Can we get this story to 1000 reviews? That would be awesome! I'm feeling a bit Christmassy. Anyone want a Christmas special? Thanks!**


	25. Chapter 25: Christmas Special

**Authors Note: Hey everyone! The support on the last chapter was astounding! Thank you so much. This chapter is purely a Christmas special! Let me be clear about something though. This is NOT the next chapter of Blank slate, rather an event that happens later on in the story, so that's why the day is XXX. Despite it not being the next chapter, I hope everyone can enjoy it all the same.**

 **Please leave a review for this chapter…because I overhauled the HELL out of it after writing over 6k words. I didn't like how the chapter was turning out, so I took it in a completely different direction. I like this result much better. Before, I had a simple gift exchange where everyone sat around the living room handing out presents. The problem I had with this style was that it didn't feel personal. It was boring because there weren't any little moments between the characters and made the writing feel shallow.**

 **So instead, I went with the mini anthology approach where Roxas gives each of his friends a present of some kind and their reaction to said present. There will be lots of shenanigans that ensue, so I hope you enjoy. By the way, this chapter is nearly 100% fluff, but give me a break! It's Christmas…well…new year's!**

 **I hope you enjoy the special. Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Please give me the gift of a review and help me achieve my goal of 1000 Reviews! Thanks!**

* * *

Blank Slate

Christmas Special

Day XXX

The concept of Christmas is a strange one when you only have a few months of life under your belt. In fact, the only understanding Roxas had of the holiday was a recent memory of Sora when he discovered Christmas town.

Talk about a strange event. Jack Skellington of Halloween town had discovered the enchanting place and invited Sora on a little adventure in order to remove the heartless and stop them from stealing Christmas presents. They even got to meet Santa when returning said presents.

Speaking of gifts, Roxas did notice the insane amount of marketing that occurred this time of Year. Everywhere he went, deals were posted in store windows, advertising was on every TV station, and endless amounts of Christmas music played from every radio channel. Even if the Nobody didn't understand the hype around Christmas, that didn't stop him from feeling some kind of holiday cheer. It was pretty much impossible not to.

Since Japan didn't start their winter break until the day after Christmas, school was still in session. Roxas was listening to the soft sound of the snow crunch under his shoes as he walked in the direction of Polt's house. It snowed the night before, leaving a small layer of white on the ground and trees. There was something peaceful about the first snowfall of the year. Everything was absolutely beautiful to look at…

Until you got to the more crowded places in the city. After that, the untouched snow turned into disgusting, oily slush.

Roxas and Xion made their way to Polt's house to pick up Yukiko and Pyra before heading to school.

Pyra was acting indifferent about the holidays because Christmas wasn't celebrated in Hell. In fact, most residence of the underworld hated it because of what it represented. Pyra didn't have any hard feelings though and tried to act as if she didn't care. But as they made their way to school, Xion, Roxas, and Yukiko noticed the way her tail waved back and forth, or how her ears flickered whenever a holiday jingle played. If they didn't know better, they would've suspected that she was excited for her first Christmas celebration. There was a happy tone in her voice when she complained about Polt dragging a huge tree into the living room and enlisting Yukiko and Pyra help in decorating it as a family.

Yukiko on the other hand was ecstatic for Christmas. Her family celebrated the holidays every year with massive parties, tons of relatives and friends, and enormous feasts. Sadly, she would not be going home until after Christmas when the school vacation started. As a surprise for Yukiko, her parents gave her an early Christmas present. One that involved the rest of her friends.

"So, are you sure it's ok if we come too?" Roxas asked the Yeti as she bounded about in the snow. Yukiko was thrilled for it to finally be winter. She danced around the white mounds, grabbing handfuls of snow and tossing them into the air joyfully. When he asked the question, she turned to him with a huge smile.

"Of course, it is! My family's been dying to meet you guys forever! So, they gave me three more plane tickets to the Alps. The bigger question is if you guys are alright to join me and my family for the party?" she asked, taking a moment to give them the cute puppy eyes. "That's alright, isn't it?"

"It shouldn't be a problem for Me and Roxas." Xion said with a smile. "We've been wanting to meet your family too."

"I talked to Auntie, and she said she'd allow it." Pyra said. "Though she also tried to get herself a ticket in order to join us. I had to stop her because she has a gym to run. There's going to be a lot of people who need to work off their massive Christmas meal."

Yukiko giggled in delight when she realized her plan was coming together perfectly. "I can't wait! My parents weren't too happy when I told them I wasn't going to be home for Christmas. And don't get me started on Yukimi and Kukiko. They said they wouldn't forgive me unless I bring something for them when I come home. Everyone is going to be thrilled to finally meet my friends though."

"Yeah…Sorry about that Yukiko." Roxas scratched the back of his head. "Kimihito wanted us to spend Christmas with everyone here."

"Don't sweat it Roxas!" Yukiko smiled, skipping up to them. She was in extremely good spirits this morning. "I wanted to spend Christmas with all my friends too. I love my family to death, but I would be pretty lonely without you guys."

"Awe!" Pyra patted Yukiko on the head, a patronizing grin on her face. "Our little Yeti is so cute! What's wrong? Can't stand being away from us for more than a couple days?"

Yukiko batted Pyra's paw away. "N-No! I just want to be with my friends for Christmas! Is that so bad?"

"Nah!" Pyra threw an arm around her shoulder. "You're just too much fun to tease though."

Yukiko smile and reached her paw around Pyra's back as if she were going to embrace her, but planted a handful of snow down the back of her shirt instead. The hellhound shrieked and jumped away, frantically shaking her uniform to rid herself of the frozen liquid.

"Y-YOU!" Pyra howled.

Yukiko stuck her tongue out at the Hellhound. "Watch'a gonna do about it? I'm a yeti! We don't get cold in the snow."

Roxas and Xion watched Pyra chase Yukiko around as they continued to walk to school. It was fun seeing them banter with each other. It brought a peaceful feeing, one that the former members of organization 13 wished could last forever. Hopefully it would, after they defeated Xemnas.

"Christmas…" Roxas murmured to himself as he glanced over at Xion. "This will be our first Christmas…wont it?"

"Oh, that's Right!" Pyra said jogging up to them. The hellhound finally caught Yukiko and planted her face into a nearby patch of snow. Yukiko already recovered though and had a large smile on her face despite it being covered with droplets of water. "You guys have never had a Christmas before either."

"I keep forgetting." Yukiko said, walking up to them while wiping the excess snow off her face. "This must be pretty confusing…huh?"

"It's really confusing." Xion admitted. "But it also looks like it makes a lot of people happy."

The four friends looked around the see numerous people smiling as they carried on with their daily activities. Most of the time, everyone was in a rush to get to where they needed to go. But recently, everyone seemed to slow down and smile more often. The atmosphere was much more pleasant and people were happier.

"Why is that?" Roxas asked. "Why is everyone acting this way for the holidays?"

"You're guess is as good as mine." Pyra said. "We don't celebrate Christmas in Hell."

"What!?" Yukiko gasped. "Why not!"

"Think about it for a moment." Pyra said with a sarcastic smile. "Christmas was originally a way to celebrate the birth of Christ. And why would the residence of Hell celebrate something like that?"

"Ah…" Yukiko scratched the back of her head bashfully. "Good point. But does that mean you hate Christmas?"

"Not really." Pyra shrugged. "I just don't have an opinion of it. So far, it feels like the only reason it exists is to give and get presents."

"It's not just about that!" Yukiko said. "It's about spending time with the ones you care about! It's about family, and love, and…"

"Sounds a little mushy for me." Pyra crossed her arms. "Can I skip it?"

"Polt would kill you!"

"…you're not wrong." Pyra said with a grin.

"So…that's the meaning of Christmas? Being with the ones you care about?" Roxas asked, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "But we do that every day? How is Christmas any different?"

"Um…Well…" Yukiko honestly didn't know how to answer that. She knew Christmas wasn't all about gifts, decorations, and Santa…but how was she supposed to explain it to her three friends, who had no experience with the holiday at all. "I…don't…Christmas is…it's hard to describe."

"Ah…" Roxas said, pausing for a moment. "So, what's the true meaning of Christmas?"

Ah, the age-old question. One that's asked every single year by many.

"It's different depending on who you are." Yukiko said finally. "Some people celebrate the birth of Christ, while others use it as an excuse to see family again, and some just like the atmosphere of Christmas."

"So, there's no definite answer." Pyra concluded with disappointment. "Awe man, and I was a little interested in this aspect of human culture."

"I think it's something you have to figure out on your own." Yukiko said, though she just said that because she didn't know how to explain it properly. It was a bit sad to see that three of her friends had no clue what Christmas was supposed to mean.

"And what about the presents?" Xion asked. "Why do people give gifts on the holidays?"

"That…is for a lot of different reasons." Yukiko said.

"Such as?" Pyra asked.

"Well…to make others happy I guess." Yukiko tried to explain. "Lots of people are happy when they make others happy. Since Christmas is a time of giving, a lot of people emulate that by giving presents to others."

"So…does that mean we should all give gifts to each other?" Roxas asked, looking over at his friends. The thought of giving a present to his friends wasn't a bad one.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean it like that!" Yukiko waved her arms frantically. "I'm just happy to spend time with everyone. That's enough of a gift for me."

"Same with me." Pyra said with a nod. "So, lets agree right now. If we don't get any presents from each other, there won't be any hard feeling, ok?"

"…Are you just saying that so you don't have to get anyone anything?" Xion asked flatly.

"Damn…Saw right through me." Pyra grinned

* * *

The entire day, Roxas was thinking about what Yukiko said. After they dropped her and Pyra off at Polt's for the night, he lay on his bed and wondered what Christmas was supposed to mean. Everyone was much happier around this time of year, but why? What was it about this holiday that made everyone so cheerful?

Sitting up, Roxas decided to talk to the person he usually went to for answers. Surly Kimihito would know more about the subject. The Nobody left his room and was about to walk to the kitchen before the door to the attic burst opened and a stream of webs shot out. They snagged Roxas around the midsection and hoisted his struggling form into the dark abyss like some horror movie. The door slammed shut right behind him.

"Why?" Roxas asked, struggling against his restraints. "Why can't you just ask me to come up here?"

"That's no fun." Rachnera said, showing off her sharp teeth with a grin. "There's always something special about seeing a big, tough kid completely helpless in front of me. I get bored tying up Honey because it's too easy. I mean, I'll never improve my art if I don't have a challenge every once in a while."

Rolling his eyes, Roxas stopped struggling. "So, what is it this time?"

"Oh, the publisher read over the manuscript for your next book and was impressed. He wants to publish it." Rachnera said joyfully as she turned to her laptop. "The first one sold better than expected. You should be proud of yourself Roxas. Not many people can say they've had this much success on their first story."

"Yeah…I noticed." Roxas said, referring to his bank account. It surprised him how much he was getting in royalties. It wasn't an overwhelming amount, but it was pretty impressive.

"They want to get the sequel printed and released near Christmas to increase sales. A lot of people may want the book as a Christmas gift after all."

"A gift huh?" Roxas hummed. "Hey Rachnee?"

"Yes?"

"What's the meaning of Christmas?"

Rachnera paused for a moment as she turned to look over her shoulder. She blinked her six eyes and shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not really sure myself. Every year, I watch people crowd into stores, buy, spend, and purchase anything they can."

"Why is that?"

"Because they want to find things on sale, or at a discount. Some want to give gifts, other want to receive things…it's just a never-ending cycle of corporate benefit."

"Is that all? Why do people give gifts on the holidays?" Roxas asked, leaning forward eagerly. He really wanted to understand what this was all about. Yukiko described it a little, but the concept was still new for the Nobody.

"For a couple reasons, I guess. Some do it because they genuinely care about someone else. Other's do it for self-validation…there's no all-encompassing answer." She responded. "Some just get others what they ask for and call it good."

"…What do you want for Christmas?" Roxas asked curiously. In the time he'd know Rachnera, she never asked for anything. Her hobbies included things like tying people up, embarrassing Kimihito and the rest of the tenants, reading books, BDSM. But those weren't things you could usually find gifts for…unless you looked in some very questionable places.

"Oh, are you turning into a mini Santa?" Rachnera grinned. "Planning on getting a present for lil' ol me? Do I need to sit on your lap and ask you what I want for Christmas?"

"…How would that work?"

Rachnera simply laughed as she turned away from the young boy. "I don't want anything particular for Christmas." She said. "Maybe…I'm the kind of person who likes being around friends for the holidays."

That's exactly what Yukiko said. Roxas was struggling to find how it was different from usual. What made spending time together on Christmas different from spending any other day together?

After signing some papers for the publication company, Roxas left the attic more confused than ever. Rachnera didn't want anything for Christmas. Rather, she wanted to spend time with her fellow tenants and host instead. What made things different?

The more he thought about it, the more it confused him. What was the meaning of Christmas? Why did people give each other gifts? If someone were to ask him, what would he want for Christmas?

That question caused him to pause for a moment. Truthfully, there wasn't anything he really wanted other than to…

Spend time with his friends…

Roxas blinked a few times when he realized he just answered his own question. He literally could not think of anything else he wanted…so maybe that was the same reasoning as Rachnera and Yukiko.

That being said, the thought of giving a gift to all his friends was an appealing one. After remembering Sora's little adventure in Christmas town, he remembered them talking about what a gift represented. For a lot of people, a gift was a way of giving your heart to someone else. It was a way of showing that you cared for another, and that you appreciated them.

And Roxas really appreciated all of his friends and housemates. Since Christmas was just a week away, he wanted to do something for them to really show how much they meant to him.

But what?

What would make them happy besides simply spending time with them? What could he give them that they'd really like?

Instead of seeking out Kimihito, Roxas returned to his room and started to brainstorm some things. He thought back on the time he had spent with his friends. He thought about their hobbies, what they liked, things they talked about…some hint that could lead him in the right direction. Each of his friends had different interests, things that defined who they were.

It took a while, but after thinking about it, he wrote down a few things that each of his friends liked. Hopefully more inspiration would come to him after a bit of grinding.

Standing from his desk, he stretched his arms to the sky. After throwing on his coat, he felt determined to get the best Christmas presents he could for the people who mattered most to him. This holiday season, Roxas Kurusu was going to let those people know just how much they meant to him. With only had a week until Christmas, he'd need to hurry if he was going to make it on time.

So, with that, he opened the corridor of darkness and stepped through. Little did he know, Xion had the same idea.

* * *

The week leading up to Christmas was a strange one. Both Roxas and Xion were extremely busy, even more than usual. Yukiko and Pyra noticed immediately and asked about it on a few occasions, but the two just said it was a secret. After school, they didn't hang out much, which was really disappointing for the two girls.

Yukiko wanted to walk around the town and enjoy the Christmas atmosphere, but she ended up just going with Pyra and Suu instead. The Hellhound and the Slime were great company, but it always felt incomplete when Roxas and Xion had to take off early. For a long time, it had always been the five of them.

But now Roxas and Xion were busy the entire week, both before and after school. They did hang out a little here and there, but always had to leave early to do whatever it was they were doing. What were they doing? Why were they so busy? It was almost Christmas and they were always gone!

Pyra was thinking the same thing. She noticed how busy Xion and Roxas were during the week leading up to Christmas, but didn't pester them about it much. It was clear they were up to something, but their efforts didn't coincide. They weren't working together because they were surprised to see that the other was super busy as well.

It was suspicious behavior, but Roxas said not to worry about it. Damn it though, was she getting curious.

Currently, it was Christmas Eve. Pyra and Yukiko were sitting at the dinner table with Polt and eating a delicious feast. Of course, Roxas and Xion were invited, but they both declined, saying that Kimihito insisted on having them spend Christmas Eve with him and the rest of the tenants. It wasn't that big of a deal, since Polt, Pyra, and Yukiko were going to be spending all day at his house tomorrow.

But in the middle of the meal, Yukiko couldn't help but voice her concern.

"What do you think they've been doing?" Yukiko asked curiously.

"Beasts me. But I better get an answer tomorrow, or I'm gonna be pissed." Pyra said.

"You don't think…they've been avoiding us, do you?"

"No at all." Pyra shook her head. "They've been up to something though."

"C'mon you two!" Polt said with a happy smile. "Whatever they've been doing, I bet they have a good reason. Have some faith in your friends."

"…You're right." Yukiko said, her usual cheer returning. "Tomorrow's Christmas! I'm so excited!"

"Yeah…" Pyra agreed. "Me too."

* * *

Kimihito

Roxas was leaning back on the sofa, playing video games with Suu. He was exhausted and just wanted to rest after a weeks' worth of grinding. Franky, he was surprised he managed to get everything he needed for tomorrow and hoped that everyone would be happy with their gift.

His stomach was full of delicious food prepared by Kimihito. The Christmas Eve feast was an enormous chore for the man, but he pulled it off like usual. Even after everyone was finished, he was still working hard in preparing for tomorrows banquet. The other tenants had decided to retire for the night as they all needed to hibernate after such a meal.

The Nobody jerked his controller to the side, sending Mario spiraling off the track before giving a sigh. Suu had once again destroyed him in the race and was doing her happy dance. When she fired up another game, Roxas began thinking about what tomorrow would bring. He was more stressed than anything because this was the first time he was going to give a gift to anyone. And it wasn't just one person, but everyone in the household. What if they didn't like it? What if all his hard work was for nothing? He gave up spending time with Yukiko and Pyra to grind out the items needed for these gifts. That was a large sacrifice on his part.

Apparently, Kimihito was exhausted as well because he stumbled into the living room and flopped down next to Roxas. He was massaging his eyes and resting his head against the back of the couch.

Roxas couldn't blame him because he was hard at work preparing for tomorrows feast. He was brining turkeys, marinating steaks, pre-making salads, preparing batter for pancakes, cakes, pies, and so much more. When did this guy ever take a break?

The answer? Never.

"You ok?" Roxas asked, glancing over at the overworked man.

"Yeah…" Kimihito responded with a drawn-out yawn. "Just tired…and stressed."

"Stressed?"

He nodded and looked over at the young boy. "This will be the first Christmas I spend with everyone. I want to make it one worth remembering…but it's a lot of work."

"I know…I've been watching you." Roxas said with a kind smile. "You're seriously going to work yourself to death at this point."

"As long as everyone has a great Christmas, I can die happy then…" Kimihito said as he closed his eyes. "I just need a breather before heading back to the store to get a few more thing. I don't think my cookware is going to survive tomorrow…but I hope it does."

Roxas's ears perked up when he heard that. He glanced at Kimihito, an almost excited look on his face. "Really?"

"…yeah…" Kimihito responded, shooting the boy a suspicious gaze. He had no idea why Roxas was happy to hear that bit of information. "My pots and pans have been in constant use ever since I became a host."

Roxas nodded his head as he pondered for a moment. This sounded like the perfect opportunity. "Hey, Kimihito…Can you wait here for a second?"

"Um…Sure?" Kimihito responded as Roxas tossed him the controller and leaped from the couch. His hurried footsteps echoed through the living room before disappearing down the hallway. The host played with Suu for a few moments before Roxas came back into the living room carrying a large box wrapped in Christmas paper.

"I know it's early, but I think this will come in handy tomorrow." Roxas said, excited and nervous. "Merry…um…Early Christmas."

"Roxas…This is for me?" Kimihito asked, genuinely surprised and touched. He wasn't really expecting anything from anyone, especially not Roxas since this was going to be his first Christmas. But here the kid was, holding out a large package for him. He even wore a cute little Santa hat. How adorable. "I…don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, just open it."

Kimihito took the package from Roxas and felt that it was decently heavy. He carefully tore the paper off to see a brown carboard box inside. The host then scraped off the tape before opening the lid.

Instantly his eyes widened.

"Roxas…This…"

"I know how much you cook and I thought you could use some better cookware." Roxas explained quickly. "I didn't know what else to get you to be honest."

It was better cookware indeed. Kimihito was looking down at some of the most exquisite pots, pans, and cooking utensils he'd ever seen in his life. All of them had this black sheen to them, as if something as sticky as melted sugar would slip right off. Gingerly, he picked up one of the pans, testing the weight and found that it was perfectly balanced and lighter than he expected.

"Wow…Where did you get this set?" He asked in amazement as he pulled out another pan.

"Well…" Roxas said, feeling elated that Kimihito liked the gift so far. "I might have harvested some materials from the heartless on…other worlds…and had a Moogle synthesize them for me."

"Other worlds…" Kimihito froze, his gaze slowly turning to the Nobody. "You went off world to make these for me?"

"Yeah." Roxas nodded. "The materials that made the cookware are incredibly durable and should last you a few lifetimes. They can't be found on this world, so don't lose the cooking set…or let anyone know where they came from."

Kimihito stared owlishly at the box of cookware again. This set would probably be worth a fortune if what Roxas was saying was true. To use metals from different worlds and craft them into pots, pans, and utensils just for him…that's quite the gift.

"Roxas…" He said. "This is an amazing gift. How can I repay you? I…didn't get you anything."

"What are you talking about?" Roxas said, looking at Kimihito as if he was crazy. "You've done more than enough for me. You gave Xion and I a place to live, you cook our meals, you single-handedly take care of everyone and ask nothing in return. You…You've been there for me whenever I needed you, answer my questions, gave advice, helped me whenever you could. When I showed up with Xion, you didn't hesitate to make room for her. If anything, this present is just a small way to repay you…and even then, it's not enough." He paused for a moment. "Thank you…Kimihito. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

Kimihito just stared, his eyes wide. He looked back at the gift and bit his lower lip as he felt a small lump in his throat. He never did expect any thanks for what he did around the house, but it was always touching when someone expressed their appreciation for his hard work.

He didn't trust his voice, so he simply reached over and ruffled Roxas's hair. After a second, he realized he could speak again. "Anytime Roxas. I don't think I could've asked for a better gift. I really like it."

Roxas felt a bit of weight lift off his shoulders and it was replaced with joy. Kimihito's gift made him happy, and in turn, made Roxas happy. He just hoped that everyone else had the same reaction.

"Don't tell me you went off planet and got everyone gifts." Kimihito said, putting the pans back in the box.

Roxas gave a sheepish grin. "I just hope they like what I got them."

"They will." Kimihito assured him.

"How do you know?"

"Roxas." Kimihito shook his head and ruffled his hair again. "No matter what you get them, they'll appreciate it. It's not just about what is in the box, but the fact that someone made an effort to make another person happy. For a lot of people, that is even more precious than the gift itself."

"…Yeah?"

Kimihito nodded as he continued. "To me, that's the reason gifts are so popular in the Christmas season. It shows that someone is willing to make an effort in order to make someone else happy."

"…Like how you put so much effort into taking care of everyone?" Roxas asked.

"Exactly."

"It works." Roxas nodded in understanding. "You've succeeded in making a lot of people happy, including me."

"Well…" Kimihito scratched the back of his head. "I'm glad it worked. There's lot of effort needed tomorrow, so hopefully that will make everyone happy."

"It will." Roxas said, realizing it was his turn to assure Kimihito.

* * *

Kii

It was early in the morning when Roxas sat up from his bed. Suu was still sleeping in her pool, so he didn't wake her up as he silently slid off the mattress and got dressed in his Organization coat. The piece of clothing was was a pretty warm for the cold winter mornings. He opened the corridor of darkness and walked through, appearing in Kii's forest just a moment later.

The Nobody didn't really know if dryads celebrated Christmas, but he was about to find out. Walking through the forest, Roxas waited for Kii to appear like she usually did…but she didn't show up yet.

Continuing to wander, the nobody couldn't help but look around at the healthy forest. They finished cleaning it a while ago, but that didn't stop people from illegal dumping their garbage. Every week or so, someone would throw their trash into the forest, and they'd have to clean it up. Thankfully, it wasn't that big of a deal anymore and the forest was looking heather than ever.

And so was Kii.

She'd changed quite a bit from before. The first time Roxas met her, she downright hated humans. Now she was a little more tolerant. She didn't even attack Polt when the Kobold entered her domain for some training, or when Kimihito and Tio went on their little date.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Roxas realized there was a place he'd yet to check. He started walking in a certain direction before approaching in on a new place Kii enjoyed spending time at. The air was a bit thicker and more humid as he continued forward.

Eventually he found it. A hot spring discovered by Kimihito, Polt, Tio, and Kii. Apparently, they stumbled onto it when the three decided to help Kii clean up some garbage from her forest. As he suspected, he found Kii was sitting at the edge of the spring, her feet submerged in the water and her eyes closed in contentment. It was something she did more often in order to keep warm through the winter months.

When he approached, her deep blue eyes locked onto his and she gave a nod. She gestured for him to come over and patted the spot next to her.

Silently, Roxas walked over to her before kicking off his boots and placing his feet into the warm water.

"Ahh…You sure you don't want to turn this place into a hot spring resort?" Roxas asked with a smile. "It would help humans learn more about Dryads."

"Positive. I've been very lenient lately about humans entering my dominion." Kii said. "I am not ready for more. Until they prove to me that they are interested in learning about my kind by not polluting my forest, I will have no interest with further interaction with them."

Roxas nodded in understanding. The Dryad had taken leaps and strides when it came to who she let into her forest, but there was a limit to her tolerance.

"Shall we begin training?" Kii asked.

"…Not today." Roxas said. "I just wanted to stop by and wish you a Merry Christmas."

"Christmas…" Kii said. "Dryads have no attachments to such a human tradition, so it's a pointless notion to wish me such."

"Oh…" Roxas said. He had an inkling that Kii might feel that way. "Do Dryads celebrate anything?"

"We celebrate the wonders of nature, as it is the mother of all." Kii said simply.

"That…is true." Roxas agreed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little package. "But I still wanted to give you something."

"I do not require a worldly possession, though the gesture is appreciated." Kii said with a nod, a sliver of a smile on her lips.

"It's…not a worldly possession." Roxas said. "It's something I…um…thought you'd like. Maybe you could even nurture into something someday."

Kii was now intrigued as she reached her wooden hand and grasped the package. She undid the paper and looked around for a moment, causing Roxas to chuckle. He reached out and took the trash from her before pocketing it. It wouldn't do for a Dryad to litter in her own forest after all.

Kii opened the box, staring down at the object before looking at Roxas with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. "What…are these?"

"Seeds."

"Yes, I realize that, but of what manner of seeds are they? I do not recognize them…and that is impossible for me as I have knowledge of all plant life that grows on earth."

"…They're…not be from this world." Roxas said cautiously. He didn't know if brining these seeds was a good idea because they should not exist on this planet, but if anyone could cultivate this tree, it was Kii.

"Not of this world…" Kii said in disbelief. "You…have brought me seeds from another world." He held the package as if it were the most valuable treasure she'd ever received.

"Was it a bad idea?" Roxas asked, the feeling of dread building up in his stomach. "I just…I thought you'd like it. And I really wanted this tree in our world."

"It…is a good thing you brought it to me as I can prevent it from becoming an invasive species." She said. "I am…excited to see what a tree from another world would look like."

Roxas felt relief again as Kii looked at the seeds with an expression he rarely gave. He couldn't blame her either because she would be the first Dryad to actually cultivate a tree from another world. It was difficult not to get excited from something like that, especially if you loved mother nature.

"I have to ask though…" Kii said, tearing her eyes away from the valuable treasure. "Why give me this?"

"It's a Christmas present." Roxas said. "I know you don't celebrate it, but I still wanted to give you a gift…as thanks for being my friend and helping me get stronger."

Kii stared at the boy before looking down at the seeds. A tiny smile on her face. "I will cherish this gift, Roxas. Just like our relationship that started as a seed of mutual respect and grew into friendship, I shall cultivate these seeds, which shall sprout forth and grow into a strong tree." She finished, plucking the tender seeds from the box, and handing the empty box to Roxas. "What is the name of these seeds?"

Roxas pocketed the trash and looked up into the sky. The sun was barley rising, scaring away the darkness and lighting up the sky in a warm glow.

"Paopu seeds." Roxas said. "It's said that if people share a Paopu fruit, their lives are intertwined forever. They will always be connected, no matter how far away they are."

Kii looked back at the seeds in her hand and gave Roxas a soft smile. "Then I shall grow a tree until it bares fruit. When the time comes, I hope to share it with the ones who have become my friends…because…" Kii actually paused for a moment, looking away from Roxas. She scooted over until she was leaning against his side. Unless it was the full moon, which it was not, she was never one for any kind of physical contact. So, this was a little surprising for the nobody. "I have come to treasure the connections I've made."

"…Me too…"

* * *

Breakfast

It was the morning of Christmas and everyone was seated to a massive breakfast feast prepared by Kimihito. His hands moved with majestic grace as he used his new cookware to churn out massive helpings of food to hungry mouths.

It was quite the crowd that gathered, which included everyone in the Kurusu household, Polt, Yukiko, and finally Pyra. MON was supposed to be there, but Xion got a text from Axel informing her that everyone had a bit too much to drink last night and were recovering. He did mention that they'd be arriving for dinner though, which would be just as extravagant. All in all, there were about eleven people in the house, gorging on a delicious Christmas breakfast.

Kimihito was using Roxas's gift to the fullest as he continued to turn out food, which was being consumed at an equally fast pace.

As Roxas ate from his own plate, he looked around and noticed how wonderful the atmosphere was. Everyone was cheerful and happy. Even the tragedy-obsessed mermaid wouldn't have it any different.

Glancing over at his host, Roxas saw he was humming happily as he flipped another pancake, took a roasted ham out of the oven, cracked a few dozen eggs, and fried tons of greasy bacon. Even doing so much work, he still had a smile on his face. It was seriously impressive how much joy he was brining to the house by simply serving others.

Kimihito noticed Roxas's gaze and shot him a smile while continuing to work. "Roxas, this cookware is amazing! It makes everything so easy! What are they made of again?"

"I…um…It's made of…stuff." Roxas said slowly, noticing a few people shooting them curious gazes. Luckily there was so much conversation around the table that everyone was easily distracted. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to explain what the cookware was made of. After all, they were made of metals and gems that weren't even on this world. He grinded a lot of heartless in order to get the materials required for the Moogles to synthesize the perfect cookware for his host.

"Either way, I really appreciate it. I never thought I'd be able to cook this much food in so little time." he said with a huge smile.

A warm feeling budded up in Roxas's chest as he nodded his head. It felt wonderful to make his host happy, like he was finally giving back after Kimihito had done so much for him. Even now when Roxas was making his own money and trying to be a little more independent, Kimihito still worked hard to provide for them.

After an hour or so, everyone was filled to the brim with food. Fun and Activities would occur later, but now was a designated time to call family and talk to them for Christmas. Since everyone decided not to go home, some were a little homesick because they didn't get to spend Christmas with their family.

People like Miia, Centorea, Papi, Rachnera, and Yukiko had family to call and wish a merry Christmas too. Even Polt dragged Pyra away in order to call some relatives she'd yet to talk to.

* * *

Xion

Since Roxas, Xion, and Suu didn't have anyone to call for Christmas, they were sitting on the couch, playing video games while everyone else was talking with family. Yukiko went to Xion's room and Kimihito supplied Pyra and Polt with his room. Polt dragged the Hellhound away kicking and screaming in order to chat with some of her relatives. Pyra tried to resist, but was eventually overpowered by the excitement her aunt embellished, especially since this was the first opportunity Pyra had to talk with other family.

Roxas twisted and turned his remote, trying to control Mario as he drifted along the track. Xion did the same, but shoved Roxas with her foot when he was about to pass her. The little puppet had gotten a bit of a competitive streak as of late.

"Hey!"

"Move over!"

"Your cheater!" Roxas exclaimed as he pushed his back against the puppet, trying to throw her off balance.

"Get off me!" Xion said, forcing herself against Roxas, twisting her remote to prevent Princess Peach from flying off the track.

Suu was humming along casually because she was so far ahead in first place that it didn't matter anymore. She crossed the finish line way before anyone else. That didn't stop Roxas and Xion from competing for second though.

"You won't beat me!" Roxas said.

"Watch me!"

The two were neck in neck just as they each grabbed an item. This was it. Whatever they would get, it would determine the victor. The Nobody watched in anticipation as the slot played its jingle and spun, but his face dropped a second later when he got a single red mushroom. He instantly activated it to push ahead…

But when he looked over at Xion's screen, he realized his mistake.

"You're mine now Roxas!" The puppet said, activated the golden star in her slot. Her character turned into a flurry of rainbows and slammed into him. Mario was sent flying off the track and into the ocean below, forcing him to wait until the Lakitu reeled him in so he could continue. But by that time, it was too late and Xion crossed the finish line in second place.

"Yes!"

"Ugh…" Roxas groaned as he finished in sixth. "This game sucks."

"Sore loser!" Xion said, shoving his shoulder. "Another round?"

"Nah, maybe in a bit." Roxas said as he put his controller down. He glanced over at Xion, who was smiling smugly at her victory. She'd changed quite a bit since she first got to this world. The puppet was much more outgoing and cheerful than she use to be. Sure, she was a little shy around new people and those she didn't really know, but she wasn't afraid to joke around with her friends or just have fun.

"What's up Roxas?" Xion asked when she noticed him staring.

"I'm…just reminiscing." He said with a smile. "You've changed a lot since you first came to this world."

"I have?" Xion asked, also starting think about it.

"Yeah. When we first played games together, you wouldn't say a word, let alone goof around."

"Hmm, I have, haven't I?" She said with a smile. "I guess both of us are…adding content to our own empty documents, huh?"

"We are." Roxas said as he pursed his lips. He felt a little nervous as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package wrapped in Christmas paper. "Um…Merry first Christmas."

Xion stared down at the small package for a few seconds before glancing up at Roxas, her eyes wide in surprise. "You…you got something for me?"

"Yeah…I know we agreed there were wouldn't be any hard feelings if we didn't get each other anything…but I just wanted too because…well…it's our first Christmas after all." Roxas said, extending his hand. "And I really wanted to get you something."

Carefully, Xion reached forward and took the small packaged that barely fit in the palm of her hands. She studied the gift like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Understandably too because this was probably the first time anyone had given her a gift before.

Suu was also watching curiously. When Roxas was busy the entire week, she'd been wondering what he was up to, but now she understood. The slime bounded up to the couch and sat down next to Xion, wondering what Roxas could have gotten her.

Slowly, Xion took the paper off the package to find a small, white box underneath. She gave Roxas one more glance before opening the box tenderly.

"…"

There was a moment of silence as they stared down at the little item. It took only a moment for Xion to recognize what it was, but Suu was just excited.

"So Pretty!" Suu said, a wide smile crossing her face.

Xion couldn't agree more as she looked down at the contents of the box. Inside was a silver chain necklace with a glittering pendant in the shape of a Thalassa seashell. It was absolutely gorgeous to look at. The shell itself was lined with gleaming silver…mithril probably, and had a pinkish tint near the top, which faded down to gold at the bottom. Because the craftsmanship was beyond excellent, Roxas must have enlisted the help of a Moodle to synthesize something like this.

Just like she did.

Now it all made sense as to why Roxas was so busy the week leading up to Christmas, why he didn't spend much time with them, or why he would leave right after school, only to come back late in the evening. He was grinding heartless and collecting items for the Moogles to synthesize.

This was prof of it.

She looked back up at Roxas, who was looking really nervous at the moment. His expression was telling her how much he hoped she would like it since this was his first attempt at giving a gift to her.

His hope was not in vain.

"Roxas, it's beautiful." She said, pulling out the necklace and turning it over in her hands. She felt her heart beat a little faster when she realized Roxas did all this for her. He knew she loved the ocean and collecting seashells was one of her hobbies. He put so much thought and effort into this little gift, just to make her happy. "I love it."

"Oh, I'm glad." Roxas said, feeling relieved and ecstatic. It…made him happy to see that she liked it, unbelievably so. He watched her turn the necklace around in her hands, taking in every detail before looking back at him.

"Can you…help me?" She asked, holding out the necklace to him.

"Sure." Roxas said as he took the necklace from her and unclipped it. Xion paused for a moment before standing up and turning her back to him. The Nobody raised an eyebrow and was about to stand as well so he could put the necklace around her neck. But she stopped him by sitting down on his lap.

"…Um…"

"It's easier this way…" Xion said, though her face burned with embarrassment. Her heart hammered against her chest because it was still unfamiliar territory being intimately close with anyone, especially Roxas. She'd seen actions like this on television a few times and it was always between two people who were comfortable with each other.

And she wanted to be comfortable with Roxas.

Speaking of the Nobody, Roxas's face grew hot he felt Xion against him. Her body was warm and soft, leaving him a bit distracted for a few seconds until he remembered what he was supposed to do. Carefully, he slipped the necklace around her neck and clipped the latch, letting the pendant rest list below her collar bone.

Instead of getting up after the act was done, Xion hesitated for a second before leaning back against his chest. Her body weight forced him back against the sofa. She then reached down and grabbed Roxas's wrists before pulling them up and crossing them over her waist, securing her in place.

The position was…surprisingly comfortable. The Puppet could feel Roxas's warmth all over her body and she couldn't describe how relaxing it was.

Roxas felt much the same way. Xion was petite and light as a feather, so the position didn't bother him. There was a certain comfort that always came from being this close to his friends like this.

"Thank you Roxas." Xion said as she pinched the pendant between her fingers, looking at it with a soft smile on her face. "I really do love it."

"…You're welcome." Roxas said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Xion said as twisted her torso slightly so she could look him in the face. She licked her lips nervously before leaning forward and pressing them against his. The puppet was still new to feelings like this, so she could only let the kiss linger for a second before pulling away. She quickly returned to their original position with a satisfied sigh.

Roxas's heart was pounding now, about to burst out of his chest. No matter how many times it happened, kissing was still a new and strange experience for the Nobody. Especially when it was with Xion as they were both extremely inexperienced.

"Xion's necklace is so pretty." Suu said, smiling at the two of them.

The two jumped a little because they almost forgot Suu was there. They glanced over to see the Slime smiling up at them with her big, emerald eyes.

"It's Suu's first Christmas too, isn't it?" Roxas said.

"That's right, it is!"

"Suu?" Suu cocked her head to the side.

Roxas reached over and patted her on the head. "I got you something too, Suu."

Instantly, Suu's face lit up in a huge smile. "You got Suu something for Christmas?"

"I did…but you'll have to wait for a little bit because Yukiko and Pyra should be around to see it."

"What is it!?"

Roxas gave the little slime a wink. "It's a secret…And no reading my mind!" Roxas batted the feeler away from his head.

Suu gave the cutest pout in the history of cute pouts. Her emerald eyes got so big that it was almost scary and she stuck out her lower lip a little.

"Pwease?"

Roxas nearly caved at the sheer cuteness being displayed by the slime. But he mustered the strength to resist. "Nope. You have to wait."

"Awe!"

Xion giggled as she snuggled back into Roxas. She had no idea how he resisted such a puppy dog pout, but he did. "Hey Roxas?"

"Hm?" Roxas hummed, turning his attention back to the girl on his lap.

"Can we stay like this for a little bit?"

"…for a little bit. I have a few more presents I'd like to give out." Roxas said, leaning back again and enjoying the warmth shared between himself and Xion.

"You got gifts for everyone?"

"Yep,"

"What did you get them?"

"It's a secret…Stop it Suu." Roxas batted Suu's feeler away from his head again, only to elicit another adorable pout from the slime.

Xion giggled again as she closed her eyes. This atmosphere was wonderful. Little did Roxas know, she had a gift for him too…but he'd have to wait until later. Her gifts were more of a group gift and would make more of an impact if everyone were around for it.

* * *

Papi

"You guys are playing video games!?"

Roxas and Xion's moment was interrupted by a flying, feathery blur as it crashed into them. The three bodies were sent sprawling to the ground while an excited harpy snagged one of the controllers.

"Papi wants to play too!" Papi said, bouncing up and down on the couch.

"Ugh…" Roxas pushed himself off Xion and into a sitting position. Xion did the same, looking over at the excited harpy.

"You're already done talking with family?" Xion asked.

"Family? What family?" Papi asked, cocking her head curiously. "Oh! Papi remembers! Papi's Mother said she was flying to Daddies home. It was weird because we talked for a little bit, but then her voice was getting quieter and quieter before she hung up on me. She didn't call Papi back after that."

"…" Both Xion and Roxas sweat dropped because they realized Papi's mother probably dropped the phone while flying. Harpies were extremely absent minded after all.

"But enough about that! Let's play some video games!" she said, eagerly waving the remote around.

Roxas smiled as he stood from the floor. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Papi asked, looking a little disappointed because she wanted to play with her friends.

"Don't worry, I'll only be gone for a few moments." Roxas assured her.

Xion seemed to realize what was going on, so she placed a hand on Papi's shoulder to stop her from following the Nobody. "Hold on Papi. Suu and I will play with you until Roxas gets back."

"…Ok!"

Roxas chuckled because the Harpy already forgot about him in favor of the others.

The only competition was between Suu and Papi because they played video games almost every day when everyone was busy. Xion tried to keep up, but failed miserably. They only managed to get one race done by the time Roxas entered the living room again with a medium-sized package in his hands.

Papi didn't even look over in his direction until she crossed the finish line.

"Yay! Papi won again!" she cheered enthusiastically.

"It's because you know all these levels by heart." Roxas said.

"Papi knows, but there aren't any other Mario kart games to play on the Wii." Papi responded, finally looking over at the Nobody. "Oh, Ruck-sack. You're back!"

"Um…" Roxas rolled his eyes because it was useless trying to correct her. She would get it right every once in a while, but the harpy was never good with names. "Yes I am."

"What's that?" Papi asked, pointing at the package.

"Oh this?" Roxas said, extending the package to the Harpy. "Here, it's for you. Merry Christmas!"

"…"

This was probably the first time Roxas had ever seen Papi speechless. It was as if her little birdbrain couldn't process what just happened.

"For me?" she asked, pointing to herself.

"Yes you."

"Really?"

"Yes…"

"Really, Really?"

"…"

Roxas noticed how Papi's excitement levels were increasing with each word. Her entire body was shaking with eagerness as her brain started to comprehend that the present in Roxas's hand was actually for her. If she didn't get her mitts on the gift soon, she would literally explode into a flurry of feathers.

"Here…" Roxas said, extending the package to her.

"A PRESENT!" Papi exclaimed. Just like the Nobody suspected, she erupted and launched herself at the boy. She wrapped her wings around his neck and her tiny body slammed into his. He nearly dropped the present, but managed to hold it in the air to prevent the item from breaking. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She said over and over, rubbing her cheek against his.

"Y-You're welcome…" Roxas said. "But aren't you going to open it?"

"Oh yeah! Papi forgot because she was so excited." Papi said sheepishly, unwrapping her wings and taking the present from him. She ripped off the paper and saw the little logo on the box, causing her eyes to literally glow with excitement.

"A…A…A NINTENDO SWITCH!" She screamed out in happiness.

Indeed, the box showed the logo of the most recent of the Nintendo consoles. Roxas knew Papi probably played the heck out of the Wii and was due for an upgrade. Even though it was a little expensive, he was willing to make the purchase in order to make the Harpy happy.

And boy did it pay off.

She almost dropped the new console as she crashed into Roxas again, gushing her gratitude and how excited she was.

"Papi…why don't we set it up?" Xion asked, trying to provide a little relief to Roxas.

"Yeah, we should! Right now!" Papi exclaimed, completely forgetting all about Roxas as she bounded up to the TV. It took all of five minutes to set the switch up and Papi was already sitting back on the couch with the new remote in hand.

"Let's play! Let's play!"

"…We need a game to play." Xion said.

"Oh…" Papi's entire world seemed to crumble as she realized they were missing one of the most important parts of any gaming experience. The game. Without the game, they couldn't play the switch. If they couldn't play the switch right now, then Papi would be devastated. "No…"

Papi had actual tears peaking the corners of her eyes. "Y-You mean Papi can't play the switch right now?"

Oh no! Such sadness could not be tolerated on Christmas! Who could save this poor damsel from the crushing reality of not getting to play with one's own Christmas present?

"Of course you can."

Instantly, everyone looked over their shoulders to see Kimihito standing there. He swooped into the living room like a superhero, a rectangular package in hand in order to save the day. Roxas and Xion swore they could hear the superman theme song playing in the background. "Merry Christmas Papi.

"…"

Again, Papi was speechless as she stared at the present. Her world was about to come to an end, but her host had once again saved her from the debts of despair. Instead of hesitating this time, she took the package and ripped the paper off. Again, her eyes glowed with excitement as she saw cover art.

"MARIO KART 8 DELUXE!" she screamed with excitement, throwing herself over the couch and into Kimihito's arms. "Yes! Papi wanted this for so long! Papi is so happy!"

"You're welcome…" Kimihito gasped. "But why don't you let Xion help you start up a game."

"That's a great idea! Papi almost forgot." She jumped off Kimihito and bolted over to the switch, handing Xion the game.

"Whew…that almost ended in disaster." Roxas grinned at Kimihito. "Cutting it a little close there."

"I didn't have time to wrap it yesterday! I was busy!" Kimihito exclaimed, throwing a wink at the Nobody. "It was a good idea though, she seems happy."

"What are you guys talking about?" Xion asked, sitting down on the couch. Papi and Suu were too enraptured with the new game to pay any attention to them. "And how did you know Roxas was getting Papi a switch?"

"Oh, simple. He told me." Kimihito chuckled. "We kind of coordinated our efforts here. Roxas told me his plan and we agreed he'd buy the switch if I bought the game. That way, we could get what Papi wanted without overspending…" He threw Roxas and uneasy look though. "But I still feel bad about making you pay for the switch."

Roxas waved him off. "It's not a problem. I make enough with book sales."

"I keep forgetting about that…" Kimihito chuckled before glancing at Papi and Suu. "But it looks like they're happy."

"That's…what Christmas is about…Right?"

"Of course."

Xion looked over at Papi and Suu, who were playing away at the game with excitement in every movement. She saw how happy the gift made them and could only hope her gift could do the same for her friends.

* * *

Mero

Mero was lounging in her pool after she finished talking with her family over the phone. Her mermaid tail swished back and forth in the water as she reminisced in the memories of the past few months. This was her first Christmas away from home and it was a little strange. Sure, she could try and take advantage of the situation by turning it into a tragic tale of not being able to visit her family for the holidays, but that thought process was getting old.

She wanted to spend Christmas with her friends and host this year. So many things happened in the time she entered the exchange program. Mero developed relationships with a lot of people, had some seriously fun adventures, and even experienced a tragedy or two…or many.

Her stance on the encompassing tragedy fetish was probably one of the biggest changes Mero had experienced so far.

Sure, she still enjoyed the emotional impact of fictional tragedy, but her desire to emulate it in real life had…dimmed quite a bit. There were a couple reasons for this. The first was because of her interactions with Roxas and his friends. After what she said about Yukiko, the mermaid had experienced tragedy after tragedy such as losing friendships, having people avoid her, and even temporarily destroying the pleasant atmosphere of the household. After going through so many things, she finally realized something.

Tragedy wasn't making her happy. In fact, it was making everything miserable.

It was hard for her to understand why until nearly everyone took a trip back to her kingdom. During that trip, she learned that relationships between humans and mermaids were difficult because of the tragedy culture most mermaids enjoyed. Not many humans or Liminal wanted relationships where one partner was only interested in the breakup.

Mero was beginning to understand how this was a problem because she started to realize that tragedy was only good if it was in a fictional story. Real life misfortunes were not enjoyable. After all, she had plenty of experiences in the past few months and none of them were memorable.

The mermaid was interrupted from her musing when she heard a knock on the door. Since she was comfortably just lounging about in her pool, she didn't feel like getting dressed and crawling into the wheel chair.

"Come in." Mero called politely, wondering who it could be as she rested her arms on the edge of the pool. She suspected everyone was still chatting with their families. Since other activities wouldn't be starting for another couple hours, she couldn't think of who would want to visit her.

Surprisingly, the person who walked through the door was Roxas. Out of everyone, she probably had the weakest relationship with him and Xion. There wasn't any hard feeling between them anymore, but that didn't mean they talked much. It was still a little awkward to interact because of the past.

"Oh, Roxas." She smiled kindly, resting her chin on her folded arms. "What can I do for you?" She had no idea why Roxas was here. Didn't he have other friends to talk to? Not that she minded him paying her a visit. He did look adorable with the little Santa hat on.

Roxas walked into the room, closing the door behind him. One of his hands was behind his back and he looked a little nervous, like he couldn't think of anything to say. Again, there interaction was kept to a minimum besides saying a brief hello every once in a while. The only thing Roxas really knew about Mero was that she was a princess of the mermaids and she had a thing for tragedy. It was hard to form a conversation with someone he knew almost nothing about.

"I…Um…"

"Is something the matter?" Mero asked.

Seeing no reason why he should delay anymore, Roxas walked over to the edge of the pool and brought his hand out from around his back. A package wrapped in Christmas paper was presented to the mermaid and she could only stare at it, completely perplexed.

"…Merry Christmas." Roxas murmured awkwardly.

"…"

There was no way Mero could have expected this. In fact, this was the last thing that came to mind when Roxas walked into her room. But here he was, holding out a present for her.

"For…me?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Y-Yeah…" Roxas said. "Listen, I…I know we've gotten past our differences, and…that we don't talk much…but I just wanted to give you something. As thanks for always treating Xion and I nicely."

"But…" Mero looked him in the eyes with some concern. "I haven't always treated you nicely…when I said those things about Yukiko…"

"I-I got mad and I almost hurt you." Roxas said, still a little ashamed for his actions. "I think…we both have faults we need to work on. But even if you said some things I didn't like, you were still always respectful and kind to me and my friends. So…" He held out the present again.

This was very surprising. It was a nice gesture, so she couldn't bring herself to say no, not after he went through all the effort to get her something. Carefully, Mero pulled herself out of the pool and sat herself on the edge before taking the present from him. It was a small box, barely big enough to hold with two hands. Looking back at the boy, she could see he was a little nervous.

"I apologize, but I didn't get you anything in return."

"I know…but when I asked anyone what they wanted for Christmas, they all said they didn't want anything, and I thought you'd say the same…but I just…wanted to get everyone a little something...I guess"

"It's very thoughtful of you, Roxas." Mero said as she delicately pulled off the wrapping paper.

She blinked a couple times when she found a blue and gold box inside, the lid shaped like a seashell, as was the rest of the porcelain box. The design was extravagant, as if crafted by the hands of professionals. She glanced at Roxas before opening the lid. Instantly, the room was filled with somber music as two golden mermaids circled around each other.

The melody was beautiful, yet sad. It made her heart heavy to hear a tune so full of emotion.

"A…Music box…" Mero whispered.

"There's actually story behind that music box." Roxas said, sitting down next to Mero, who was enraptured by the melody. He remembering the story Arial told him when he visited Atlantis to find mero a present. It took the young nobody a while to convince Arial to allow him to borrow the music box in order to make a replica. Since the box had so much sentimental value, the young mermaid was very hesitant to part with it for a few moments. However, when he told her about Mero's…fascination with tragedy, she was a little more willing.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for the Moogles to figure out the blueprint and send him on a scavenger hunt to find the right materials for synthesizing a replica. They weren't able to get the magical properties of making the golden mermaids appear when the box was opened, but they got the job done in making it look similar.

"Yes?" Mero said, tearing her eyes away from the beautiful music box.

"In an ocean far away…" on another world. "The king of the ocean had this music box made for the queen on their anniversary. When she passed away, it left a hole in his heart that never fully closed. He kept the music box as a way for him and his daughters to remember her. The melody that plays is a sad reminder of what they lost, but also a way to reminisce in the wonderful memories they shared."

Mero swallowed as she listened to the tune. Indeed, it was full of love…and sadness. She could just imagine the kind of pain someone would go through if they lost a love one. Sure, it was appealing to feel the emotional impact from a fictional standpoint. But imagining what it would be like to see Sir Kimihito pass away, never to see him again…To never to witness his smile, or feel his gentle touch, or listen to his soothing voice…

It was too painful to think about. No kind of tragedy would be worth something like that.

"Do you like it?" Roxas asked.

Looking back at the beautiful golden mermaids twirling around each other in an eternal dance, Mero felt herself smile at the thoughtfulness of this young man. Since she was a princess, she could have almost every worldly thing she wanted. But Roxas put so much thought into this gift that it astounded her. Why would he do something like that for her? Their relationship wasn't that strong…or at least, she didn't think it was.

"It's wonderful." She whispered, setting the music box down by the poolside. The way she was currently feeling was beyond what a tragedy could give. It was a feeling of someone that cared about her enough to give her such a wonderful gift. Only sir Kimihito had shown such kindness before, kindness that would melt her heart into a puddle.

"I'm glad you like it." Roxas said in relief. Truthfully, he was a little nervous because he had a hard time trying to figure out what to get Mero for a Christmas present. He knew full well that they didn't have the strongest relationship, but he wanted that to change. She was part of his family now, and he…cared about her. Seeing her happy stirred a feeling of warmth in his heart. He was beginning to understand why people gave gifts during the holidays. "Merry Christmas."

Smiling, Mero reached over and cupped his cheeks. Very delicately, she pressed her lips against his forehead in a sisterly fashion before pulling away. That was the most intimate moment they ever shared before. It was nice because it was almost like saying that anything that happened in the past was now behind them. Now they could move forward in hopes of a better future.

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

Centorea

Centorea was blushing up a storm as her imagination went wild. Despite being the most Chivalrous of knights, her mind could have a perverted streak every so often. Kimihito had just dropped off her Christmas present and she couldn't be more grateful to have him as her master. He was such a wonderful man, cheerful, courageous, kind, dedicated, all the things she wanted in a husband. And he'd just given her a present.

A sword polishing kit.

It was easy to tell how much thought he put into the gift and it was just another reason she loved him so much. She even broke out the kit after he left her room and began to polish one of her swords. She was not allowed to carry her real one in public, but that didn't stop her from taking care of it.

Currently, the centaur was daydreaming about the day she and her master would get married and have a beautiful daughter, where she would teach her about being a chivalrous knight. Centorea and Kimihito would take their daughter to the park; take pictures as a family, and so much more. Just thinking about it brought a soft and warm smile to her face.

She couldn't wait for that day indeed. The day where her master would choose her over her rivals and they would ride triumphant and married into the sunset.

A sudden knock on the door viciously ripped her from her fantasizing. She glanced over in curiosity, wondering who it could be this time. Her master had already given her his gift and was now on a mission to give gifts to everyone else in the house, so it couldn't be him…unless there was more he had to tell her.

Instantly, her imagination returned in the form of a scenario where he declared his everlasting love for her. They would get married, and raise a child and…

 **Knock Knock**

Clearing her throat, Centorea laid her imagination to rest. It was not honorable to keep her master waiting when he had important matters to discuss with her.

"Enter." She said, waiting for the man she loved to re-enter the room. However, instead of seeing Kimihito and his signature smile, she saw a person who she least expected to visit.

Roxas enter the room with a large package under his arm. It was so unexpected that she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that her imagination would not come to pass. However, she was intrigued as to what the boy would want. They didn't have much interaction with each other besides a bit of small talk here and there.

"How may I help you, young man?" Centorea asked as she continued to polish her blade.

"…What are you doing?" Roxas asked curiously as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Master hath given me a noble gift for which I may care for my sword." Centorea responded happily.

"Oh." Roxas said, admiring the smooth polish on the steel. Centorea knew what she was doing. "I've always wanted to ask, but do all centaurs carry around swords?"

"The practices of Knighthood have always been a part of Centaur culture, young man." Centorea said. "In fact, I just finished talking to my mother. She was once again victorious in the annual Christmas jousting this year."

"Christmas…jousting?"

Centorea gave a small sigh as she placed her sword down. "I have participated in the jousting ever since I was a young steed." She said with a heavy heart. "Though this year I chose to remain here to be with my master and with my friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Roxas said. He could sense the disappointment in her voice at missing such a family tradition. Despite not understanding much about them, people tend to cherish their traditions.

"Do not apologize for things that are not your fault." Centorea chided softly. "I chose to stay here because I wish to spend Christmas with the friends I have made. It was my choice and I stand by it."

"What is…jousting?" Roxas asked curiously.

Centorea turned to the young man, her eyes lighting up a little as she explained the noble sport of jousting to the young boy. How each centaur would charge each other with dramatic passion, armed with non-lethal spears and shields in an attempt to tag the other. She seemed very passionate about it, as it if were something she enjoyed immensely.

"The secret to jousting is not in the use of the spear, but of the shield." She explained. "To win, you must make use of your defenses to deflect your opponent's spear before thrusting with your own. That way, you are nearly guaranteed victory." Centorea said before giving a sigh of longsuffering. "Sadly, I did not have room to take my shield along with me as I chose my sword instead. I will have to make due with the sword alone in order to keep my master safe."

Roxas glanced down at the package under his arm before looking up at her. "Jousting sounds like fun."

"It is very enjoyable." Centorea agreed with a smile. This little conversation was very nice and Roxas was a captive audience, but she still didn't know why he was paying her a visit. "But tell me, why have you come here?"

"Oh yeah…" Roxas said. He was so caught up in listening that he forgot about his present. He held up the large package for Centorea, who stared at it in confusion. "Merry Christmas."

"…"

Centorea blinked a few times as she looked down at the present in Roxas's hands, not sure if she heard him right. "This is for me?" she asked, reaching down and taking the package. "Whatever for?"

"Because I wanted to." Roxas responded simply. "I think this will look good with your sword."

Again, Centorea was confused because she didn't think her relationship with Roxas was strong enough to warrant a gift. Now she felt bad because she didn't get him anything in return. Nevertheless, she felt it would be a great dishonor to herself if she rejected a gift simply because of her own feelings. Carefully, she ripped open the paper to find a large, white box inside. She opened it and her eyes widened in awe.

Inside the box was a gleaming, silver shield with a golden trim. It was absolutely stunning, and from what Centorea could tell, expertly crafted. Something like this was beyond the blacksmithing ability of the Centaurs, so she could only wonder where he got it.

"Roxas…It's…"

"I…had a friend make it for me." Roxas said, scratching his cheek. He didn't want to go into too much detail about how he grinded the heartless in order to get materials for the Moogles to synthesize that shield. Most of the tenants didn't know about other worlds yet. "I thought it would complete the whole…Knight look."

Flipping the shield over in her hands, Centorea tested the weight before slipping it on her arm. It was the perfect fit. How he did that, she'd never know. The Centaur couldn't identify the material because it was light like steel, yet hard as iron. How in the world could he afford something like this?

She desperately wanted to ask, but it was dishonorable to inquire much about a gift costed as it would undermine the efforts of the one who gave. If nothing, she was a proud centaur with unquestionable honor.

"It's perfect." Centorea said, glancing down at Roxas with amazement in her eyes. "I don't know who those friends you're talking about are, but they have a gift for smiting." She gave a small thrust forward to test the shields weight again and found it flawless, even better than the one she had at home. "How can I ever repay such generosity?"

"You don't have to." Roxas said with a smile. "I got it for you…because your part of my family. I just…wanted you to be happy."

Centorea lowered the shield, a somber look in her eye. How could she ever mistreat such a gentle and kind soul. Sure, he got mad at Mero a long time ago, but that was the distant past when he was still learning after having Amnesia. His progression was astonishing if he was now at the point of giving such meaningful gifts.

"Young man…" Centorea said, slipping the shield off her arm and she stepped toward him. She reached out her arms and pulled him into a soft hug…but with the size of her chest, it was more like suffocation.

Poor Roxas.

"I don't remember if I've said it enough, but I am so sorry for how I scorned you in the past. How I regarded you as a threat and treated you as such."

"It's in the past Centorea." Roxas muffled through her shirt, though his face was burning red. He didn't have many intimate moments with Centorea after all. He was happy she liked the present, but she was cutting off his air supply. "So, don't worry about it anymore. I'm just happy you like it."

"I do…and I feel very honored to be surrounded by such generous people as you and my master." Centorea said, stepping away. "Merry Christmas, young man."

* * *

Lala

"…Why have you invaded my domain, Nothing?" Lala said, her arms crossed as she sat on her bed. "You continue to deny me my purpose and you have the gal to interrupt my meditation."

Roxas had gotten use to Lala's attitude towards him. No matter what he tried to say, she always thought he was something that should not exist. And she was right, but that didn't make it any less annoying. But after spending some time with her, he began to realize that this was her way of trying to look intimidating. She was a Dullahan after all, a being that was very sensitive to spiritual matters. She knew something was off about him and wanted to claim it was her duty to return balance…or something like that.

Even though she called him a Nothing, they were civil with each other and occasionally had some decent conversations about existence, life, death, light, and darkness. If nothing else, Lala was someone he could talk to in order to get some perspective on the meaning of life…

When she wasn't constantly asking if she could destroy him, that is. At this point, it was more of a habit than an actual threat.

"Do Dullahan's celebrate Christmas?" Roxas asked. Despite having a few conversations in the past, Roxas knew practically nothing about Lala. She was the most recent addition to the house and didn't talk about her past at all. She didn't talk about her family, if she had one, or where she came from, or anything. She was the most reserved by far.

"Not really." Lala said. "Christmas was originally to celebrate the birth of Christ, how the son of God was brought into this world. But Dullahan's are focused on Death, so it is pointless to celebrate life."

"Did you talk to any of your family?"

"That is none of your concern." Lala said, her voice showing signs of annoyance. "If there is nothing else, please leave me. I must ponder were a soul that was never supposed to exist goes after it departs the plane of the living."

Roxas gave a sigh because his attempts at conversation were turning out like they usually would when he tried to understand Lala a bit more. She was so reserved about herself that no one knew much about her. Instead of pressing for more information, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little box before holding it out to her.

"What is this?" Lala asked suspiciously.

"Um…A present, I guess."

"Humph, I will not be swayed by such attempts in getting in my good graces." Lala said stubbornly, even though she was eyeing the gift with interest.

"That…wasn't my intention." Roxas said, wondering if it was mistake in trying to get her something. "I just wanted…to get you something, I suppose. Since you weren't going back to family for the holidays…or don't really celebrate Christmas, I thought I could get you something because you're a part of this family now…"

Roxas had no idea what he was saying, but he was trying. Truthfully, he didn't know why he got Lala a gift. Their relationship was next nothing…but he didn't want that to last forever.

"Kurusu said something similar." Lala said, glancing over at the drawer. Roxas followed her gaze to see a scythe polishing kit, similar to the one Centorea had. "While the gesture is appreciated…it is not necessary. Dullahan's are agents of death, and as such, have no interests in practices of the living."

"…Oh…I see." Roxas said with disappointment. This whole thing felt like a huge waste of time.

Seeing the look on Roxas's face, Lala actually felt a little bad for being so stubborn. All he was trying to do was give her a gift and she was being a bit unreasonable. When she saw he was retracting the gift, the Dullahan bit her lower lip and had a little internal battle with her pride. To be honest, she was grateful he even thought to get her something, but her stubborn nature was preventing her from being honest with herself.

"But…"

Roxas looked up at Lala, seeing an embarrassed blush on her face. She extended her pale blue hand and looked away from him.

"Since you went through the trouble. I guess I shall accept the gift if nothing else."

"…Sure." Roxas actually felt a little better as he placed the small package in her hand.

Lala rolled the gift over a few times before picking off the paper. She then opened the small box to reveal a beautiful pendant. It wasn't a necklace, as that would be foolish to give to a Dullahan, rather it looked as if it could be clipped onto a keychain, or something similar.

"What is this?" She asked, pulling out the little accessory. Now that it was in the palm of her hand, she got a better look at it. The object was shining silver, in the shape of a scythe. It had a beautiful pattern engraved on it. Lala was trying to keep her face unreadable but her eyes were sparkling.

"It's called Full Bloom." Roxas said, thinking back on the insanely difficult synthesis materials needed to make that item. He was lucky Sora managed to swipe the recipe from Marluxia's room when he attacked Organization 13 a long time ago. "It's supposed to attach to a keychain of some kind, like on your phone, or at the end of you scythe." He continued, deciding not to mention the items ability to increase attack power.

"It is…acceptable." Lala said, trying to save as much dignity as possible. The Dullahan was giddy as all hell because she'd never received such a beautiful piece before. "I thank you for the gift."

"Um…no problem. Merry Christmas…" Roxas said, his eyebrow raised. For a split second there, he thought he saw the faintest of smiles on Lala's face before her mouth was covered by her black scarf. Just that little bit of confirmation was all the nobody needed to feel like his efforts weren't wasted.

"…This cannot stand," Lala said suddenly as she stood from the bed. She quickly looked around her room as if she were searching for something.

"Um…What?"

"I will not be in your debt. As per my duty as an agent of death, your soul must be reaped to return balance. Therefore, I must find a suitable gift that shall alleviate me of any hesitance as a result of your gift."

"…You really don't need to."

"I must insist…Ah, this will do," She said as she reached to her desk and picked up an item. She then turned quickly to Roxas before thrusting it at him.

Roxas blinked a couple times as he took the item and looked it over.

It was a simple peppermint Candy Cane.

"…Thanks?"

"Now we are even. Be grateful I even considered giving such a gift." Lala said as she gazed at the Full Bloom in wonder. It was an incredibly beautiful item and she simply couldn't understand why he was giving it to her. "Tell me, what inspired you to get me something like this?"

"I couldn't think of anything else to get you." Roxas said simply, pocketing the candy cane for later.

"Your soul would be nice."

"Besides that!"

* * *

Rachnera

"That was so weird…" Roxas said as he exited Lala's room. He knew she liked the gift, but interacting with the Dullahan was always a strange experience. They could never have a normal conversation with each other as it always devolved into her asking to take his soul. Couldn't she tone it down for Christmas at least?

Walking down the hall, Roxas barely passed Rachnera's attic door before it burst open and webs shot out. They snagged the back of his shirt and he was yanked through the dark opening before it slammed closed. At this point, the Nobody was getting use Rachnera's method in wanting to talk to him about something. She favored the aggressive approach, waiting for him like a hunter stalking its pray. Once he was in range, she would spring her trap and string him up to her lair. In the end, he would be sitting in front of her completely tied up and she would grin upon her pray in victory.

Why she chose to do this? Roxas had no idea.

"…"

"What? No comical retort? No complaining about being tied up?"

"I'm getting used to it."

"Well, that's no fun!" Rachnera lamented as she turned and started typing on her computer. "I just wanted to share the good news with you. We have a Christmas paycheck headed our way."

"Good news? A Christmas Paycheck?" Roxas asked, standing up with his arms still tied behind his back.

"Yep! Your second book is selling great so far." She said, giving him a smug look. "Seems I was right when I said we should publish around Christmas time. A lot of people pre-ordered the book as a gift. We outsold the first book by over 50%."

"That's…Awesome." Roxas said in wonder. He never considered publishing his dream journal in the first place, but seeing that so many people liked it felt great. Even if he was kinda stealing Sora's life story, Roxas would find a way to make it up to his Somebody. "Was this the story of wonderland, or Deep Jungle?"

"Wonderland." Rachnera said. "I have no idea how Sora survived such a crazy place, but it was interesting to read about. I just added a few details here and there for continuities sake, but overall, it was a fun book to edit."

"I see…Thanks Rachnee." Roxas said, genuinely grateful for all her help. Without the spider woman, he wouldn't have even thought to publish this story. But now it was being spread through the world. It made the Nobody feel a little strange because it felt like he was spreading the secret of different worlds to everyone…if only they knew how true those books were.

"You're very welcome." Rachnera said with a fanged smile. "This is a mutual partnership though, so when you make money, I make money. Everybody wins!"

"Still, I really appreciate all you've done for me."

"Eh, stop being all sappy." Rachnera said, roughly rubbing the top of his head with her sharp fingers.

"I mean it though…Thank you." Roxas said before he snapped the webs that bound his arms. He ignored Rachnera's annoyed look as he fished something out of his pocket and held it out to her. "Merry Christmas."

Rachnera looked at the little package before looking back up at Roxas, as if she couldn't believe what just happened. Her smug smile was replaced with a look of playful irritation. "You little twerp! Are you actually giving me a Christmas present?"

"…Yes?"

"But you know I said I didn't want anything, right?" Rachnera crossed her arms stubbornly. She wasn't expecting a gift from the kid, so it threw her for a loop to watch him hold one out for her.

"I know…but I couldn't help it. It's my first Christmas and I wanted to get something for my friends…as a way to show my appreciation for them." He extended the present to her again. "So please take it. It's the only thing I could think of as a way to say thanks for everything you've done for me."

…Well, how could Rachnera say no to that? It was difficult being a sadistic bitch when someone was being that earnest with you. Shaking her head, the Spider-Liminal snatched the box out of his hand and ripped off the paper. She wasn't expecting much because there wasn't really anything materialistic she enjoyed. She liked to read, she enjoyed BDSM, and she liked teasing her fellow tenants. Looking at the box, she thought it would probably be something simple, like lipstick or a hair clip.

How wrong she was.

When Rachnera opened the box, her six eyes widened. The spider-woman stared at the objects for a couple seconds before glancing over her shoulder at her abdomen. She then looked back at the item in the box.

It was a pair of earrings in the shape of an exact replica of the insignia on her abdomen. The metal was almost glowing silver with iridescence and the two black stones in the eye sockets gleamed in an almost scary way. Whatever these earrings were, they were extremely valuable. And since it was in the shape of her insignia, there was no way he just walked into a store and bought it. No, this was custom made.

Looking down at Roxas, she couldn't form words. This must have cost a fortune to have made…or maybe he had another method, she didn't know. All she knew was he put thought and effort into this gift.

"Where in the hell did you get these?" Rachnera asked.

"…Around."

Rachnera rolled her eyes as she looked back down at the gift. Of course, he wouldn't tell her. It would defeat the purpose of the gift if he did. Still, she really wanted to know how he managed to get her insignia just right for these to be made. It was no easy feat to get a jeweler to make something like this.

"Geeze…pulling out all the stops, huh Roxas?" Rachnera said, a stubborn blush on her face. She pulled out the earrings and tucked her hair behind her ears. Taking out the old pair she was currently wearing, she slipped the new ones in.

Roxas blinked a couple times as he watched Rachnera's hair fall back into place, hiding the earrings from view. That's when he realized a little problem with his gift.

"Oh…Sorry. I didn't think they'd be concealed by your hair." He said, feeling a little disappointed.

"No, this is perfect." Rachnera assured him, moving over to her desk to place the old earrings down. She looked at her new ones in the mirror, a soft smile on her face.

"It is?"

"I don't like showing off jewelry…much." Rachnera said, showing off her sharp teeth in a smile.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't wear them to impress other people." Rachnera said simply. "Besides, do you really think the first impression people will have when they seem me is 'wow, look at those earrings!'"

"…No." Roxas admitted.

"You see?" Rachnera said with a shrug. "I wear earrings for my own sake. I can feel beautiful when I wear them I the privacy of my room and in the company of my friends since they…know how to look past my other features."

"Other…features…"

Rachnera paused for a moment before chuckling to herself. To Roxas, she didn't have any special features. In fact, none of his friends did. They weren't a type of Liminal, or had a certain body type he had to be aware of. They were just friends to him. Everyone was the same no matter what they were.

It was just like how Honey saw all of them.

"Never mind twerp." Rachnera said with a soft smile. She walked over to Roxas and placed a hand on his head again, rubbing his skull roughly. "Never change Kid…ever…and thanks for the earrings."

"Do…you like them?" Roxas asked, peaking up at the woman. "You never told me what you wanted for Christmas…so I had to improvise."

Instead of answering, Rachnera's soft smile transformed into a sinister grin. She gripped the back of his head before forcefully yanking his face right into her cleavage. The Arachnera wasn't gentle about it either because she needed to make him pay for making her get all soft and mushy. She was Rachnera the Arachnera after all, a sadistic spider that thrived upon the suffering of others.

"It's a wonderful gift and I appreciate it…but you need to be punished for tugging my heartstrings like this! It seems you and Honey forget that playing with a young maiden's heart is not a good idea!" She said, gripping his head so he couldn't escape. Her webs tangled around his body, restricting his movements and made the poor nobody a perfect target for her certain brand of torture.

Geeze, these two boys were really making it hard to be a bitch during the Holidays. They were too damn nice for their own good and needed to be taught to tone it down. Either that, or Rachnee was going to get them and make them pay.

* * *

Miia

"Mom! I told you why I didn't come home for Christmas already." Miia said, resting comfortably on the bed as she held the phone to her ear.

"I know, but you should've just brought Darling home with you. I'm positive he would've had a splendid time here with us." A sultry voice responded over the phone.

"By splendid, you mean gang rape, right?" Miia rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry mom, but Darling Is mine and mine alone!"

"It sure didn't seem that way when I came to visit." Miia's mother said smugly. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I saw you battling for his affection among the other tenants."

"Ugh!"

"I wish for your success, but I am a little disappointed that you won't be bringing home a communal husband for those not fortunate enough to get into the exchange program." Miia's mother said.

"…"

Miia didn't say anything because her mother was right. The whole purpose of her entering the exchange program was to find a willing male she could bring home and make a communal husband for the other Lamia in her tribe. Because Lamia were an all-female race, they had to rely on males from the outside to reproduce. There previous customs for attracting the opposite sex was outlawed by the exchange bill, so they had to find another way.

That's were Miia was supposed to come in.

"I apologize…" Miia's mother said after a few moments of silence. "It was an untasteful jest on my part. You do not have to worry about brining home a communal husband for a while."

"…Really?" Miia asked, feeling a little better.

"Why yes! After all, our Christmas party attracted a lot of curious men to our village. Let's just say we had a splendid time with them and a few decided to stick around." Miia's mother said joyfully. "But not everyone is lucky enough to have there very own husband, so fight hard for Darlings affection, alright?"

"Yes mother." Miia said with a happy smile. The fact that she abandoned her original purpose for entering the exchange bill had weighed on her mind. In a way, she felt selfish for deciding to keep Darling all to herself while her sisters had to share a communal husband…but she really didn't want to share him. She wanted him to be hers and only hers.

All that stood in her way was the other tenants. She would have to win Darlings affection and have him chose her over them. The Lamia was determined to make it happen.

"If you want to keep your darling all to yourself, you better move quickly my dear." Miia's mother said.

"…What do you mean?"

"Miia…since the exchange bill passed, all-female races such as the Lamia and the Harpy have joined human society. In a lot of countries, human women already outnumber human men. With the addition of races like the centaur starting to prefer human men, it means the gap between the number of men and the number of women has increased dramatically. I wouldn't be surprised if they passed the law where a single man can wed multiple women in the future."

This little information hit Miia like a bomb. It was completely true though. Most Liminal races had far more women than they did men, meaning that competition was going to get more and more fierce in the future. That was a frightening thought.

"Do you really think that would happen?"

"Of course, and it won't be because men demand it, but women." Miia's mother said. "Just think of it like this. Would you rather share darling, or lose him forever to another woman and die alone?"

Again, Miia's stomach dropped because she didn't want either. She wanted Darling all to herself and no one else. But just thinking about losing him forever was horrible.

"That's why you better act fast while he's right in front of you." Miia's mother continued.

"Yes Mother…thank you for the advice." Miia said somberly. She needed to make a move soon, or else she just might be forced to share the man she loved with her rivals.

Hearing a knock on the door snapped Miia out of her thoughts. "Hold on for a sec mom." She said. "Come in!"

Roxas entered the room much to her surprise. The young boy paused when he saw Miia holding the phone to her ear.

"Oh, is this a bad time? I can come back later."

"No! It's ok. I'm just about done." Miia waved him off.

"Oooh, is that the young boy from last time?" Miia's mother asked through the phone. "Roxas right?"

"Yes Mother…before you ask, he is still too young." Miia said flatly.

"Nonsense! Isn't the age of consent in Japan 13 years old?"

"…Mother…" Miia said with a warning tone in her voice.

"Awe, but he was so cute when I saw him last. Just give him a few more years and bring him back with Darling, Ok?"

"Not going to happen Mom." Miia growled. "I'm hanging up now. Tell everyone I said Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas sweetie. AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU CUITIE PIE! COME VISIT ME IN A FEW YE-" Miia quickly hung up the phone as she gave a sigh of longsuffering.

"Sorry about that, but you know my mother." Miia said, laying her phone on the nightstand.

"Yeah…she's…something else." Roxas said, trying to find the kindest way to describe Miia's mom. The one time they interacted didn't go over well.

"You can say that again. She was a bit disappointed when she learned I wasn't coming home for Christmas. She usually throws a huge party to attract some unsuspecting males for…" She stopped herself. "Never mind. So, what's up Roxas?"

"Oh, right…I just wanted to um…" he held out a small package for her. "Here. Merry Christmas."

Miia's eyes lit up and a smile stretched across her face. "For me?"

"Yeah. I wanted to get you something as a way to say thanks for…um…everything." Roxas said, giving her a kind smile.

"Everything? But I haven't really done much." Miia said, cocking an eyebrow.

Roxas scratched the back of his head as he tried to find the right words. Why was giving gifts so difficult? Why did he always have to explain the reason for the present?

"Well…Ever since I first came to this house, you were always kind to me. When Xion came, you treated her just as nice as you did me." He said. "You took it upon yourself to look after us, always acting like the older sister we never had. I probably don't say it enough, but thank you. It means a lot to me…and…um…I hope you like the present."

"Awe…" Miia said happily. She wanted to gush because of how adorable Roxas was being right now. She always wanted a young brother and projected that desire on him a little, but he was ok with that. Seeing him hold out a gift for her while wearing that adorable Santa hat made her want to strangle him with affection.

But she wouldn't do that right now because she had a gift to open.

Looking down at the present, Miia reached out and took it. She pealed back the paper to reveal a white box. Because she didn't know what to expect, she hesitated for a moment before opening it.

The sight of a pair of sparkly objects caused the Lamia to gasp and nearly drop the package. One hand went to her mouth as tears peaked the corners of her eyes. Inside the box was an absolutely GORGEOUS pair of D-shaped hairclips. They were glistening with sparkly silver iridescence and had a beautiful golden trim around the outer edge. By comparison, they made her current clips look like a cheap, yellow knock off.

Just gazing upon them, she couldn't believe Roxas was simply giving them to her. At just a glance, she knew how incredibly expensive they must be. After all, She and all the other Lamia favored this style of hairclip. She'd seen thousands of them before, but never a pair of this quality. Where did he even get them? How did he get them?

As Roxas watched her admire his gift, he was starting to get the wrong idea. The last reaction he expected were tears to stream down her cheeks. Did he do something wrong?

"Miia, if you don't like them, you don't have to keep them." Roxas said in a hurry, reaching over and resting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry if I hurt-"

Roxas was cut off when he found himself crushed in a restrictive embrace. Miia's large tail wrapped firmly around his body in a tight hold as she hugged the life out of him. She managed to drag him to the bed so he wouldn't fall on the floor.

"What are you saying? I love them!" She gushed, showering his face with sisterly kisses. "I absolutely love them! ThankyouThankyouThankyou!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pulled away and gave him the widest smile he'd ever seen on her.

Roxas simply looked up in shock. While this was better than tears of sadness, he still didn't expect a response as passionate as this. Looking more carefully, he realized the tears were actually tears of joy. He still had a hard time recognizing the difference, but he was getting better.

Miia didn't release her hold when she took off her old hair clips and slipped on the new ones. They looked absolutely stunning on her and she let out a squeal of excitement after seeing her reflection in the mirror. A lot of people would admire these hair clips if she started wearing them around town.

Turning back to her captive, the Lamia gave him another wide smile before throwing her arms around his neck again. "All my sisters will be so Jealous!" She beamed. "I don't know what I did to get such an awesome younger brother."

"Well…" Roxas gasped for breath, his face turning blue. He was struggling to breath because of how tightly he was being constricted. "I should be…saying the same thing…I'm glad you like it though. It makes me happy…but could you please…loosen up a little…"

Miia blinked a couple times as she looked down at her own coils. She was so excited about the gift that she forgot to restrain herself and was actually putting some strength into her squeeze. If this was Darling, she would've crushed him in half by now. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, relaxing her grip a little.

Roxas gasped for breath as he felt sweet relief. He felt lightheaded because blood began to rush back into his limbs. "Thanks…"

Shaking her head, Miia planted one more kiss directly on his cheek before pulling away again. "No, Thank you Roxas. And Merry Christmas."

* * *

Pyra

"No more Auntie…No more." Pyra begged, but Polt had already started dialing up another number. For the past few hours, the Kobold had been calling up every relative she could think of and forced her niece to talk to them.

Pyra was losing her damn mind. If she had to talk to another half-cousin's mother's uncle, she was going to go on a rampage. The Hellhound was already apprehensive about talking with people she didn't know, but chatting with unknown relatives was even worse. Every single one of them asked the same things like, 'how is school?' 'What's hell like?' 'How did you escape?' 'Who are your friends?' And so many more redundant questions that Pyra wanted to rip her own ears off so she didn't have to listen anymore.

But worst of all was how most of them knew her mother. When talking to them, nearly all of her relatives had this undertone where they expected Pyra to act as her mother once did simply because she was her daughter. It…was getting old, and really destroying her personal spirit of Christmas.

Polt was a bit oblivious to this because it wasn't outright mentioned, so the hellhound didn't hold it against her. She was simply happy her niece was interacting with family for the first time.

Kimihito had given them the master bedroom so they could talk in peace, but Pyra had opened the door a while ago, hoping someone would walk by. That way, she could find an excuse to escape the torment of awkward family interaction.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, her prayers were answered by the best person possible. She caught a glimpse of blond hair and her eyes made contact with the person walking by.

Roxas looked pretty relaxed and casual as he stepped into view, a peppermint candy cane hanging out of his mouth and a Santa hat on his head. Pyra tried to nonverbally convey that his assistance was required, but he just gave a small smile and a simple nod from the doorway after seeing she was busy. He then walked back out of view.

No, it couldn't end this way. She needed to do something and quick.

"Auntie! I need to ask Roxas something."

"Awe! But Buddy is next on the phone. He's the cousin to your second uncle's wife." Polt said, listening to the phone ring.

"Sorry Auntie, it's really important." Pyra said, standing up and bolting from the room.

"Hey! We still have about fifteen more calls to make."

Yeah…that was not going to happen. Pyra escaped the room and ran down the hallway after Roxas. She practically jumped on his back when she saw him, causing the boy to stumble forward a few steps.

"Act natural!" Pyra hissed in his ear. A good thing too because Polt just exited the room, looking down the hall at them suspiciously.

"Oh, you're free now?" Roxas asked.

"Yes! Yes! For the love of God, YES!" Pyra said, grabbing his arm. Now it was time to throw off her aunt's suspicion. "Oh! It's in your room? Let's go then!"

"Um…Wh-" Pyra slapped a paw over his mouth and yanking him out of Polt's sight. She dragged him away from the master bedroom before roughly shoving him into his own room and closing the door. Once they were safe on the other side, she gave an enormous sigh of relief. "Thank whatever heaven was listening to the prays of this sorrowful hellhound!"

"…What?"

"Nothing, just nothing!" Pyra said. "Auntie has me talking to everyone in the damn phone book. I can only take so much Roxas, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I…um…Yes?" Roxas nodded, though he didn't have a clue. He bit off the end of his candy cane, crunching it between his teeth. "I'm guessing Polt has a lot of family."

"You have NO idea." Pyra rubbed her eyes.

"And by extension, you have a lot of family."

"That…is true too." Pyra said somberly. "It's just really weird talking to Aunts, Uncles, and Cousens I had no idea existed before today. I learned a lot about my…mother from them. I had no idea she was so popular with the family."

"…Is that a bad thing?"

"Well…" Pyra paused for a moment and started pacing around the room. "Not really…It's just…"

"Just what?" Roxas asked, raising and eyebrow at Pyra's tone.

Pyra glanced over at Roxas for a brief moment before sagging her shoulders. She didn't like being vulnerable in front of anyone…but she knew he wouldn't judge her.

"They're expecting me to act like she did. Apparently, my mother was about as outgoing as my Auntie. And I'm…not." Pyra explained, playing with her hair awkwardly. "All of them are surprised when they realize I'm reserved around new people. They get all weird when they find out I have a pretty foul mouth if you piss me off."

"A pretty foul fist too…" Roxas mused, causing Pyra to laugh. She walked over to his bed and sat down.

"I can hear it in their voices, even though they try to conceal it." Pyra said. "They're all really sad my mother passed away…and it kinda feels like they expected me to emulate her since I'm her daughter. A lot of them were under the impression they had my mom back now that I was out of hell." Pyra flopped backwards, resting her paws behind her head.

"But…you're not her." Roxas said, scrunching his eyebrows because he could relate to this situation pretty well.

"No, I'm not, and I never will be. It just gets kinda annoying when all of Aunties relatives expect me to be." Pyra concluded before sitting up and looking at him. "But you understand that completely."

"More than I care to admit." Roxas said, crunching on another piece of candy cane.

"…Do you think it would be better if I did act more like my mother? Do you…mind that I'm the way I am?" Pyra asked curiously.

"Not at all,"

"Why?" She asked. "I'm…not outgoing or nice like the rest of my family…or like Yukiko…or Kimihito…or Xion…"

"And you don't need to be," Roxas said. "True, you like to punch me in the face when I make you mad…"

"Ugh."

"You like to curse, you have a short temper, and like getting violent…"

"Mmmm…" her shoulders sagged more.

"And you always find joy in relentlessly teasing everyone around you for your own amusement…"

With each word, Pyra's ears drooped a little. Normally she wouldn't mind his bluntness, but with recent conversations with her distant family still fresh in her mind, she was letting it affect her a bit more. Her gaze dipped so she wasn't looking directly at him.

"But you also have a strong personality, you're loyal to your friends, you can be kind and caring…at times. You're funny, witty, intelligent…beautiful…I could go on and on. If I had a choice, I would never want you to change who you are." Roxas said with a kind smile, walking over to his desk and fishing something out.

Pyra's ears shot straight up and her face burned in embarrassment. Her heart began thumping against her chest violently as such an honest opinion of her was shared by the boy she liked. And…did…did…he say beautiful? Did he think she was beautiful? She thought of herself as a lot of things…but beautiful?

Looking up at the boy, she noticed there was a package in his hands, extended directly at her. He held his candy cane between his teeth and gave her a grin.

"I could never imagine you as anyone else because…well…you're one of my best friends." He said, holding out the gift. "Merry Christmas Pyra."

Pyra's eyes locked onto the gift as her eyes slowly trailed up to meet Roxas's. His face was so adorable with that little peppermint treat in his mouth and the Santa hat on his head.

"You…weren't supposed to get me a gift." She said, reaching out and taking the present from him. It was the only coherent sentence she could form at the moment because her heart was racing too much.

"I know…but I wanted to anyway. You mean a lot to me, and I hope what I got you conveys that."

"…" Again, Pyra's face burned like the surface of the sun as her eyes locked onto the package in her lap. She used her red claws to rip off the paper before opening the black box inside.

"…Holy…Shit." She cursed as she gazed down at the item. This was probably the furthest thing she expected him to get her for Christmas. How did he even know Hellhounds like this accessory? The design was almost perfectly replicated.

"It…was really hard to think of something you'd like." Roxas said. "I did a little research on Hellhounds and found that a lot of them wore something like this in their pictures. I don't know what it means exactly, but I thought you might like one."

"Like it…" Pyra pulled out the item. It was a black choker with four small spikes on the collar. The pendant was a gleaming skull with beautiful, deep red eyes that seemed to glow. The metal was unlike anything she'd seen before, neither were the red crystals in the eye sockets. In all her life, she'd seen many Hellhounds wearing these chokers, but never one of this quality. She ran her paw over the skull pendant and was surprised to feel some warmth emanating from the red crystals. "This is amazing! Where did you get it?"

"Well…" Roxas scratched the back of his head. "You know how I was busy this week?"

"Yeah…"

"I was fighting the heartless. I don't know why, but when you kill certain heartless, they drop some very rare items used for synthesizing."

"You…went to another world to get this?" Pyra asked, staring down at the choker in her paws. "And you fought heartless to get it?"

"Kind of. I farmed some items from the heartless and asked someone to use those items and make the choker." Roxas said. "The skull is made of an alloy of Orichalcum, Mithril Christal, and Dense Chrystal, while the eyes are carved from pure Blaze Crystal. All of which are…pretty difficult to come by."

"Mithril? As in the mythical material used in fantasy?" Pyra asked, her eyes wide. "I thought that stuff didn't exist."

"Maybe not on this world." Roxas said with a grin.

Again, Pyra looked down at the beautiful choker. It was truly a wonderful gift, one made especially for a hellhound in mind. Not only that, but he risked his safety to get her something so special…

And valuable…

This accessory would probably be worth millions upon millions of yen. Nowhere on earth were there any of the materials Roxas just mentioned. She'd need to keep that tidbit of information a secret, otherwise her present would be stolen instantly.

Looking up at Roxas, she didn't know what to think. A gift like this not only had effort put behind it, but serious thought at well. True, her interests lie in things like reading, long walks, hanging out with her friends, and recently, video games. All of which were not really good hints for gift giving. But Roxas had figured something out by looking into Hellhound culture. It was true what he said about most hellhounds having a choker like this. It easily cost a small fortune to have one made in hell, and it was the one thing Hellhounds, especially female Hellhound, wanted.

Her paws started shaking as she turned her back to him and held out the choker. She couldn't form words right now, but Roxas got the idea, especially since he helped out Xion with the same task. He took the gift from her and unfastened the latch before putting it around her neck, locking it into place. The skull pendant rested comfortably on her collar bone. Already, Pyra could feel the comforting warmth radiating off the blaze crystals.

When he finished, Roxas took a step back. Pyra turned around to show it off, still not looking up to meet his eyes.

"How…does it look?" she asked quietly.

"It suits you." Roxas said with a nod.

Pyra didn't say anything else as she suddenly stood up from the bed. Her bangs covered her eyes so Roxas couldn't fully see her expression. She was biting her lower lip as her mind and heart raced. With the combination of his earlier statements towards her and the exquisite gift…the hellhound only had one thing on her mind.

She was going to make him pay for making her heart beat this wildly. It wasn't fair she was the only one to feel this way. He always did this to her. Made her feel weak, like a pathetic, love-stricken princess waiting for a knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet.

That wasn't Pyra the Hellhound. She was a torturer of the damned! A strong, independent, feisty girl who could kick ass and take names. A girl who couldn't be tamed by anyone or anything.

No…Roxas wasn't going to be victorious here. She'd make sure of it.

Speaking of the Nobody, Roxas was wondering why Pyra was just standing there. He couldn't see her expression, but her body was starting to shake. Without warning, tiny licks of fire burst from her eyelashes. Every other time that happened meant she was emotional about something, which gave Roxas a reason to be concerned.

"Pyra? Is something wrong!"

"You…Fucking Asshole,"

Roxas barely had time to process her words because Pyra rushed him. She grabbed two handfuls of his shirt and slammed him against the wall, viciously pressing her lips against his. The candy cane in his mouth snapped because of the forceful impact and clattered to the floor as the hellhound relentlessly attack his lips. She pushed her entire body against him, making sure he wouldn't be able to escape her wrath.

Not that he was trying because the Nobody's brain was going haywire. His heart started pounding against his chest when he was finally able to process what was going on. Pyra had kissed him before, but not this passionately.

Lucky for him, it didn't last too long before she pulled away. She had a grin on her lips when she saw the redness and confusion on his face. This was going to be fun.

Before she could continue, she felt something hard click against her teeth. Blinking a couple times, Pyra pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek before finding a piece of candy cane in her mouth. Savoring the sweet flavor of peppermint for a moment, she crunched down on the treat while pondering Roxas's punishment. Was this enough? Did he learn his lesson?

Of course not. She was just getting started.

"Tasty." The Hellhound said before dragging the Nobody over to the bed and throwing him on top. He didn't even get the chance to sit up before she pounced on his stomach, straddling his hips to make sure he wasn't going anywhere.

"P-Pyra!" Roxas stuttered before he found his lips sealed by her paw. Her eyes were ablaze with passion and her face supported a huge smirk. More tongues of fire burst from her eyelashes.

"You…over and over again, you do this to me…" She said, grinning down at him.

Roxas tried to push against her shoulders, but she caught his hands and forced them back down on either side of his head so her face was hovering above his. This situation was completely unexpected, so the Nobody didn't know how much force he was supposed to use. He didn't want to hurt her, even though she was starting to freak him out a little.

"No…you don't get to escape me." She said hungrily. "You weren't supposed to get me anything, but you did. Now it's time to face the consequences."

The Nobody was honestly a little worried. He'd rarely saw Pyra this intense. Her breathing was labored, her eyelashes were ejecting tongues of flames, and her tales was swaying back and forth almost hypnotically. He felt like a rabbit after being cornered by a wolf.

"C-Consequences?"

"Yep." Pyra said, leaning forward and pressing her lips against his for a searing kiss before pulling away just seconds later. "Yukiko would kill me if I went too far, so I'm glad you're starting to understand how to kiss back. You better get that cure spell ready because…" She released one of his hands and lightly poked his lower lip with her claw. A tiny blotch of blood started to build up around the small puncture wound. "By the time I'm done with you…well…you're gonna need it."

Roxas didn't get the chance to ask what she meant before she slammed her lips onto his again. Her entire body weight pressed down on him, sealing off any chance of escape.

* * *

Yukiko

Being nearly the exact opposite to Pyra, Yukiko was having a great time talking with all of her family. For the past few hours, she'd been chatting with her parents about every little thing that happened during her time in the exchange program. She told them about the festival, about the funny interactions with her club, exploits she had at school, and then some adventures with the other members in Kimihito's household.

Yukiko loved her family with all her heart and was torn when she made the choice to spend Christmas here. She would've loved to take her friends with her back home for the holidays, but they had family here that wanted to spend Christmas with them. Eventually, she decided to stick around this year with her friends in order to create more cherished memories.

Her family was understandably disappointed, but accepted her reasoning. They made a deal that she would come home for the winter break and had to bring her friends with her, which they already agreed to anyway. The Yeti was excited about this…but also very nervous.

"Big sis, I can't wait to see you next week!"

"I'm excited to see you too, Yukimi." Yukiko smiled warmly at the phone. Her family was on face time and it warmed her heart to see them. They were all dressed up for the holidays in various Christmas attire and smiling happily into the camera.

"Will you bring presents?" A little voice said, her tone full of hope.

Yukiko smiled at the youngest little girl, who was sitting on her father's lap.

"For the cutest little Yeti in existence? Of course, I can." Yukiko smiled fondly at her youngest sister…well, soon to be second youngest based on the large swell in her mothers' stomach.

Yukiko way laying on her back on Xion's bed, one paw behind her head as she chatted away with her family. She'd already talked to a bunch of distant relatives that passed by for some face time and was about to wrap it up with her parents. After all, she could nearly smell the delicious feast Kimihito was starting to prepare for their Christmas Dinner. There was no way she was going to be late for that.

Her head turned sharply when she heard a knock on the door. Looking at the phone timer, her eyes nearly budged out when she realized how long she'd been talking. It had almost been four hours. If she didn't stop soon, all her data would be gone for the month.

"Hold on a sec mom." Yukiko said, sitting up on the bed. She listened to a few joints pop because of how long she'd been lying there and turned to the door. "Come in!"

Instantly, her face lit up when she saw Roxas appearing in the doorway. Though there was something a little different about his demeaner. His eyes were glazed over and his face supported a few small bruises and cuts while his shirt had holes in a couple places. The Santa hat was an adorable addition, but it was strewn to the side of his head. It looked like he fell down the stairs. What the hell happened to him?

"Oh, Roxas!" Yukiko said with a smile.

"What! Roxas? Let me see, let me see!" Shouted a voice over the phone.

Yukiko realized that her family was still on face time and caused her stomach to drop a little. She was a bit embarrassed to admit it, but none of Yukito friends had talked to any of her family yet. Her parents badgered her over and over again, but she always found an excuse to say no because she was extremely nervous about introducing her family. What if her friends didn't like them? What if her parents said something that embarrassed her?

"M-Mom…" Yukiko said, trying to hold the phone out of view, her thumb dangerously close to the end call button.

"Don't you dare hang up this phone, young lady!" Yukiko's mother growled over the line.

"You better listen to your mother Yukiko. She's been wanting to talk to your little friend for a long time." A male voice said through the phone. "Plus, I'd like to see the young man who's been taking care of my daughter."

"Daddy!" Yukiko's face lit up in embarrassment. Why did he have to say that when Roxas was standing right there?

"…Should I come back later?" Roxas asked. He could see Yukiko was a little uncomfortable and thought it might be a good idea to let her finish talking with her family. That didn't stop him from being a little curious about his friend's family though. He did want to meet them one day.

"NO! Get your face over here right now so I can see what you look like! My daughter won't even show me your picture young man!" The female voice demanded.

"Oh no…" Yukiko was dreading this. Her family was going to embarrass the hell out of her, she just knew it. But, might as well rip off the band aide. Either that or have her family do much worse when he visited next week. "Hey Roxas…um…come here really quick."

Roxas paused for a couple seconds before he approached the bed. Yukiko was still holding her phone just out of view, but she hesitantly held it out for him, her face still burning red. "H-Here…"

The Nobody reached out and took the phone before turning the screen and camera towards him. Instantly, he saw four faces eagerly staring back at him.

"Oh my goodness, such a handsome young man." The oldest woman said with an enthusiastic smile on her face. She was clearly Yukiko's mother because Yukiko was spitting image of her. She had snowy white hair that was tied in a loose pony tail over her shoulder. Her bright turquoise eyes and wide smile showed that she was clearly happy to finally see him. Her skin was the same shade of brown as Yukiko's and her facial structures were more mature, emanating a soft, kind, and motherly aura. One of her paws was gently stroking her swollen belly. If Yukiko was cute, then this woman was…beautiful. "My name is Kimiko! It is so good to finally meet you."

"Big sis has been talking nonstop about this guy?" One of the younger girls said loudly, causing Yukiko to grown. The little girl also looked a lot like her sister, but her hair color was just a shade darker and her skin was a little lighter. She looked more like the only male in the group instead. There was a little bit of red on her cheeks, but she turned her face away from the camera and stuck her nose in the air. "Humph, I'm not impressed. My name is Yukimi, so you better not forget it!"

"Oh god…" Yukiko whispered, burying her face in Xion's pillow. This was too much for her to witness. Why did her family have to do this to her?

"You-You're Roxas?" The youngest murmured. Roxas saw the littlest one and realized she had the lightest shade of white hair among all of them. It was almost glowing. Her eyes were wide and innocent as they met his and she had the cutest little expression of wonder on her face. It morphed into a small, shy smile. "I'm Kukiko."

"Yeah…um…it's nice to finally meet you all…too," Roxas said awkwardly. He had no idea what to say to Yukiko's family. He'd never met them or talked to them before and it was weird being the center of attention.

The grown man smiled at Roxas. From what the Nobody could see; Yukiko's father was a large and heavily muscled Yeti with darker fur. His eyes were deep blue and he had a very kind, yet intimidating smile on his face.

"My name is Yukito. And it's good to finally meet the person who risked his life to save my daughter,"

Roxas felt his stomach drop when he heard those words come out of the male yeti's mouth. Wasn't that information supposed to be kept under wraps? No one was supposed to know what he did.

The large man let out a deep and rumbling chuckle. "I can tell by the look on your face that we're not supposed to know about that." He said, reaching over and wrapping his large arm around his wife. "But our daughter was a victim in that incident. There's no way her own family could be kept in the dark about such a matter."

"Oh…Um…I understand." Roxas said, scratching the back of his head. How much did Yukiko tell them exactly? Did they know he could use magic? Did Yukiko tell them about his past? Did…they know he killed people to save their daughter? Would they be bothered by that the same way Kimihito was?

"Worry not, young man. We understand the consequences if people knew what you did." He said, causing Roxas to blink a couple times. His demeaner suddenly shifted and his face morphed into rage. "Even though it's complete bullsh-"

"Darling! Not around the children." Kimiko said with an apologetic smile. "Don't worry Roxas, my husband is just grateful for what you've done. We never got the chance to thank you for… returning our daughter to us…"

Roxas's heart almost broke when he heard Kimiko's voice crack a little. He watched Yukito's gentle expression return and he began to gently rub his wife's shoulder. Kimiko looked like she was on the verge of tears, but quickly wiped them away. They were…really thankful for what he did, even if it meant ending lives to make it happen.

"I had too." Roxas said finally. "Yukiko is my friend and…I would've done anything to save her."

The family blinked a couple times as Yukito and Kimiko glanced at each other, each supporting a large grin. It felt like there was a silent message conveyed between the two, but Roxas couldn't comprehend it. Thankfully, the previous atmosphere returned.

"I'm glad she has friends like you." Yukito said with a smile. "I know you already would, but please continue to look after her. She's our precious daughter."

"She's precious to me too." Roxas said. To him, it was a simple statement, but for some reason, Kimiko got way too excited and gave a small squeal.

"Awe! That's so adorable!" She gushed. "We won't take up much more of your time since you're going to visit us soon. But thank you again for being there for our daughter. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas." Roxas said warmly. He liked this family already. They seemed like very nice people.

"Alright, that's enough!" Yukiko said, leaping off the bed and snatching the phone away from Roxas. "I can't wait to see you next week. Merry Christmas!" Yukiko said in a hurry, steam pouring out of her ears. The poor yeti had listened to the whole conversation and didn't miss the part where Roxas said she was previous to him. Why did he have to say that directly to her family? They weren't going to forget about this EVER!

"Wait! What about your other friend-"

Yukiko ended the call, her face still burning up. Of course, her family had to embarrass her in front of Roxas. What else did she expect them to do?

"They're…really nice."

"They're embarrassing!" Yukiko countered, dropping her phone into her pocket before covering her face with her paws.

"You looked like you enjoyed talking with them though."

"Of course, I did." Yukiko lowered her hands to glance at the boy. He actually looked really adorable with the little Santa hat on. "But enough about that, what's up Roxas? Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I did!" Roxas said before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package. "Merry Christmas Yukiko."

Yukiko's eyes widened as she saw the little package. She thanked the heavens she wasn't talking to her family anymore because they would have lost their minds knowing Roxas got her a present.

"You got me something? But I thought we all agreed we weren't going to do that." Yukiko protested, automatically feeling bad because she didn't get him anything in return.

"I know…Pyra said the same thing…" Roxas blushed when he remembered how she reacted to her gift. "But I just had to. It was the only way I could express how grateful I am to have you as a friend."

Like usual, the yeti's face burned red. No matter how many times he did it, it still surprised her whenever Roxas was so blunt about expressing how he felt. She looked down at the box again, beginning to get excited about what it could be.

Roxas wasn't done though. "You were one of my first friends. You always know how to put a smile on everyone's face and make them happy, especially me." He laughed. "That's impressive considering…well…what I am."

Yukiko giggled a little, but her brain was firing so many signals that it was difficult to focus.

"You're always cheerful, happy, kind, smart, and beautiful…You accepted me for what I am without so much of a second thought." Roxas continued, failing to notice the steam starting to roll off poor Yukiko's head. "I will always be grateful I met you that day in the mall, where you became my first official friend. I wanted to do something for you…and this was all I could come up with."

By this time, Yukiko's heart was full of emotion. Tears threatened to stream down her burning cheeks. She knew Roxas didn't really hide how he felt, but it never got old to hear how much she meant to him.

"Yukiko…are you alright?"

"Oh…yes…I'm fine." Yukiko said, wiping her eyes quickly. "I'm just…so happy!"

Hearing that made Roxas happy as well. He really hoped she liked this gift. Just like Pyra's, it took a lot of grinding to get the materials needed to synthesize it. So far, his gifts had been successful, but it didn't make this any less stressful to present one to someone he cared about. Even so, he held it out to her.

Yukiko gingerly took the present out of his hand and tore the paper off. She had no idea what to expect from this gift. She knew he had a decent amount of money because of his book sales, so he could easily go out and buy something. If that was the case, she would still be ecstatic.

However, when she opened the little box, she felt a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes.

It was a pair of beautiful snowflake earrings. Each snowflake was an enchanting sliver that seemed to almost glow. On the end of each snowflake petal was a small, baby-blue crystal imbedded in the metal, while the center had a much deeper blue crystal that gleamed like something she'd never seen before.

"Roxas…" She whispered as she took the earrings out of the box. She was surprised to feel a cool chill from the blue stones in the center of each earring. "There gorgeous. How did you get these? They must have cost a fortune."

Roxas felt an enormous weight off his shoulders, which was replaced by an unbelievable feeling of warmth to see her so happy. Throughout the entire day, he was beginning to realize why people gave others Christmas presents, especially if it made others this happy.

"I had them specially made." Roxas said, getting an inquisitive look from Yukiko. "The reason I wasn't around much last week was because I was grinding heartless for materials. I had someone synthesize these for me."

"These…" She stared at the earing with wide eyes. "Are made of materials from a different world?"

Roxas nodded. "The metal is actually a mixture of Orichalcum…umm…Mithril…and twilight crystal. The stones on the end are frost stones and the ones in the middle is pure frost crystal. I thought…you'd like them."

"I…" She was actually speechless. These earrings were truly a priceless artifact from someone who spent a lot of time and effort to obtain. This was beyond what she thought Roxas would get her.

Without saying anything else, she reached up and slipped the new earring into her ear lobes, instantly feeling the cooling effect of the frost crystals against her neck. In a very comforting way, it reminded her living in the mountains, where she would feel the chilly wind against her neck. It was…simply incredible.

"How…Do they look?" She asked, sitting down on the bed and tucking her hair behind her hear.

Roxas leaned forward to get a better look before giving a smile. "They look good on y-"

He didn't get to finish because Yukiko grabbed his head and pulled it forward into a crushing hug. She leaned back and Roxas's body followed until they were both laying on the bed facing each other.

Yukiko had a death grip on his head while her legs wrapped around his midsection to hold him in place. Tears streamed down her cheeks. There were no words to describe how happy she was. Such a wonderful gift, such wonderful words, such a wonderful friend. What did she ever do to deserve someone like this in her life?

Roxas…could still breath thankfully, but was dangerously close to not being able to. He knew this was Yukiko's way of showing affection, but she was doing this a lot more than usual lately. Don't get him wrong, it was nice, but her grip could rival Miia's when she was excited.

Luckily, the crushing grip only lasted a couple moments after she got her fix. The Yeti loosened up a little, but not enough for him to pull his face out of her chest. She began to gently stroke his hair in a comforting way, enjoying the closeness of her first love.

"I love them Roxas." She said warmly. "And I'm also happy to have met you. I'm glad you're my friend. You always stood up for me, was kind to me, and was there for me…when I needed it most…" She said before her body started to shake a little.

Because of his position, Roxas could easily notice. He pulled away slightly so he could meet her gaze. "Is…it still bad?" he asked, rolling over slightly so his face was hovering over hers.

"Sometimes…" She murmured, though her shaking increased a little when she realized Roxas was looking down at her. Fear started building up in her eyes and she bit her lower lip. Before it could get any worse, she grabbed his shoulders and flipped them over so she was on top now.

"It's…I…

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked.

"I…I…It's a phycological thing…" She tried to explain. "Ever since that night at the bay…I've been…afraid of feeling helpless."

"I know…" Roxas said, reaching up and curling his arms around her. "You told me about it already. You don't need to justify it to me."

She lowered herself until she was resting her body directly on his, relaxing the side of her face against his chest. Her body was still trembling a little, but not nearly as bad. It helped that Roxas was gently stroking her hair now. "It's funny, because most Yeti women actually like being on the bottom. But I can't stand it anymore…because it makes me feel vulnerable…helpless…controlled…"

"Um…"

"Oh, sorry, that probably doesn't make any sense." She said apologetically. "Just…be patient with me, Roxas…Please?"

"Of course." Roxas nodded. He didn't belittle the Yeti for having minor PTSD from her experience. Hell, he only found out recently that the whole ordeal still bothered her and gave her nightmares on occasions. Pyra had been a huge help because there were some nights Yukiko would wake up screaming and the Hellhound was there to comfort her.

"Thanks…for everything." Yukiko said, giving a grateful sigh as she closed her eyes. "I love my earrings,"

"You're welcome. I'm really happy you like them."

They lay there for a couple moments, allowing Yukiko to fully calm down before she raised her head to meet his eyes. She pulled herself up a little and gently locked lips with his. Kissing Yukiko was pretty much the exact opposite to Pyra. While Pyra was vicious and passionate, Yukiko was gentle and sensual. Her lips moved deliberately in order to make both of them feel comfortable in each other's embrace, while Pyra wanted nothing but a rigorous make out session.

Each were completely different, but equally enjoyable. Yukiko reached up to cup his cheeks, but accidently brushed against one of his bruises. The Nobody gave a tiny gasp of pain, but it was enough for Yukiko to pull away. She frowned suspiciously at the little injuries.

"By the way…" Yukiko said. "What happened to you? Did you fall down the stairs or something?"

"Oh, I forgot about those. Cure…" A green glow encompassed his face before all the scratches and bruises were gone. "I don't know why, but Pyra asked me to wait to heal those until you saw them."

"Ok…so…Pyra did that to you…Why?" Yukiko asked. She had a sinking feeling in her gut.

"…She was a bit enthusiastic about her gift." Roxas admitted.

A few gears clicked in Yukiko's mind and she grit her teeth.

"That…Bitch!" Yukiko growled when she realized something. Pyra got to Roxas first again. Not only that, but she made sure to let Yukiko know she beat her to the punch by allowing Roxas to walk into her room without healing those…make-out wounds. Yukiko could almost see Pyra smug grin right now, feeding off her jealousy.

"Yukiko?"

"Shh!" Yukiko said, leaning down and pressing her lips to his again. She pulled back and cupped his uninjured face. "I'm not going to lose to her, so no more talking until I say so." She brought her lips to his again, silencing any form of talk.

* * *

Suu

Christmas was a very strange concept for Suu. Like Roxas and Xion, this would be her first time experiencing the holiday. So far, she thought it was amazing. Everyone was so happy, enormous amounts of food was eaten, and the decorations around the house were pleasing and fun. All in all, she really enjoyed the atmosphere.

But the one thing on her mind right now was the surprise Roxas had for her. She desperately wanted to take a peek into his mind in order to find out what it was, but he avoided her every attempt. It was grating on her mind because this would be one of the first times she received a gift for Christmas.

She looked extremely eager, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet as Roxas held out a lumpy package to her. It was later in the afternoon and everyone was finished contacting their families. Games, food, and other Christmas activities would be starting soon, so now was the best time to present Suu with her gift. Especially since Xion, Yukiko, and Pyra were all sitting there, waiting to see what it was.

"Merry Christmas Suu." Roxas said with a soft smile, holding out the much-anticipated Christmas present.

Suu reached out and took the gift, flipping it over in her hands. It was a floppy package, as if the material inside was made of something soft.

"Well? Aren't you gonna open it?" Yukiko asked, almost as anxious as the slime. It had to be something pretty special because Roxas had told them to gather together. All the other gifts were given personally, but this must be something unique if everyone had to be here for it.

Suu nodded as she gingerly picked at the wrapping paper and pealed it back. Inside was a set of clothing in a plastic casing. There were a few other things in the casing, like papers and documents, but the cloths really caught her eye because she'd seen them before.

It was a school uniform.

Suu looked up at Roxas, her feeler curled into a question mark. "Why is Roxas giving Suu a school uniform?"

The Nobody gave a soft smile to the slime. "Because after the Christmas break, you're going to need it when attending school with us." He said as he reached over at patted her head.

The information hit the slime like a freight train. She looked down at the uniform, her emerald eyes wide before looking back up at Roxas. Her mouth couldn't formulate a coherent sentence because of the swell of emotions she was feeling.

"What?" Pyra gasped. "You enrolled Suu in school? How the fuck did you do that?"

Scratching the back of his head, Roxas chuckled. "It wasn't easy. Since Slimes aren't a part of the cultural bill, the government doesn't cover their schooling expenses. Because I've been making enough money from the book sales, I decided to cover the cost so Suu could come to school with us. I've already talked to headmaster and his wife about it and they agreed because it might help the community learn more about slimes."

"That's amazing!" Yukiko said, her excitement levels going through the roof. "But isn't there a ton of paperwork that needs to be filled out? How did you get it all done so quickly?"

"Smith helped a lot." Roxas admitted. He didn't tell them about the part where he bribed the coordinator with some off world heartless drops to enlist her help. She was able to get the correct paperwork and have it signed by all the needed people in order to get Suu admitted. It was a complicated process, but it was all worth it in the end. "She said something about the headmaster being pretty excited because this would be the first school to enroll a slime. And Smith would get credit for having her enrolled. It's…apparently good for publicity."

"That's our coordinator for you." Xion said with a laugh. "Always looking for an opportunity to get her name out there."

"Suu gets to…Suu gets to go to school with her friends?" Suu asked, her voice one of disbelief. Her little feelers were shaking as they held the uniform like it was her lifeline.

"Do you want to?" Roxas asked.

"YES!" Suu exclaimed, leaping from her spot and tacking her four friends in an all-encompassing hug. "Suu's wants to! Suu want's to! Suu has wanted to go to school with her friends for so long!" Her feelers circled around all of them, squishing them together into a very uncomfortable pile of bodies. "Suu is so happy! Thank you Roxas!"

"S-S-Suu…You're crushing us…" Yukiko gasped. Usually that was her job, but Suu was giving her a run for her money.

"And, is Suu in the same class as everyone?" Suu asked loosening her grip a little.

"I made sure of it." Roxas responded. "You have a lot to catch up on, so they decided it would be best if you were in our class so we could help you."

Suu stared at her friends in disbelief. She swallowed a little and tears leaked out of her eyes before being quickly absorbed back into her skin. "Suu…Suu is…Crying?" Suu asked. "W-Why is Suu crying. Suu is too happy to cry."

"It's because you're happy Suu." Yukiko said with a soft smile. "Sometimes, people are so happy that they can't help but cry."

"Suu…" She hickuped as she connected her feelers to each of her friend's heads "Suu loves her friends so much."

"…"

Anything said after that would have lessened the impact of the moment. A moment where a group of friends felt a connection to each other that would never be severed. A powerful bond that would never be broken. They simply sat there, relishing in the feeling of closeness and friendship.

* * *

Everyone

It was a bit later in the afternoon when Kimihito pulled out a few snacks and placed them on the counter. He'd finished talking on the phone with his family a while ago and was back in the kitchen. The poor man hadn't stopped working since the morning, but he didn't seem to mind. Making the food was part of his Christmas gift to everyone after all.

By this time, nearly everyone was done talking with their families and all piled into the living room and kitchen to hang out with each other. Games were taken out, food was consumed, beverages were drunk, and company was enjoyed. It was a wonderful time to be a part of the Kurusu residence. Even a few of the other family members were showing off their gifts and bragging to one another.

The party was apparently big new because there was a knock on the door right after it started.

"Xion, could you answer that for me? I'm a little busy at the moment." Kimihito said with a longsuffering smile. Currently, he was in a three-way tug of war between Miia, Centorea, and Papi. They were debating on who was going to sit next to him when playing the new Mario Cart on the switch.

Xion gave the man an understanding nod before walking over to the door and opening it. Instantly, there was a rough feeling on the top of her head as a familiar red-haired figure reached forward and ruffled her hair

"Axel! You made it!" Xion said, her face lighting up in a smile as she reached forward and wrapped her arms around his stomach.

"Of course, we made it." Axel said with a grin. "It just took a while to get everyone in the car."

"…Why?"

Axel thumbed over his shoulder to the five people who stumbled out of the van. Tio looked as cheerful as ever, wearing as Santa outfit that was barely able to keep her massive chest from spilling out.

The rest looked half-asleep and completely drunk. Smith dragged her feet over to the door, reaching out and grasping Axel's shoulder for support.

"…What happened to everyone?"

"To much hard eggnog." Axel chuckled. "They threw quite the party yesterday for Christmas eve."

"Ugh…Don't mention that stuff again Axel." Smith said, looking absolutely wasted. "Darling better have some real food for us."

"There's plenty in the kitchen."

"Good…" Smith said, pushing off the nobody and giving a drive-by pat on Xion's head as she walked past.

"Food…" Zombina slurred as she also entered the building. It actually looked like she was an authentic undead zombie at this point.

"Merry Christmas!"

Fortunately, Xion didn't have much experience with Tio's infamous hugs…but unfortunately, she found herself understanding what made them so scary. One second, the young puppet was standing in front of Axel, the next she was lifted off her feet and her face was shoved into a huge cleavage. Tio's massive arms constricted around her torso as the Ogre gave off a cheerful squeal.

"Tio…I think she likes it, keep it up." Axel said with a slight grin on his face. It was funny seeing Xion struggling to get out of the ogre's grip.

"You really think so?" Tio asked happily.

"No!" Xion managed to push herself away from the ogre and slug Axel in the stomach.

"Ooof…ok maybe she didn't. But do you know who will?" Axel asked, winking at Xion.

"Who?" Tio asked, clearly excited to hear that someone didn't have a fear of her horrifying embrace.

"Roxas would just LOVE a Christmas hug. I bet he's been waiting all day for it."

"Cutie? Really? Well I can't let him wait any longer! I must find him right now! Where might he be?"

"…in the kitchen." Xion said, a small grin crawling along her face. They watched Tio clap her hands in joy and enter the house. "That was really mean Axel."

"Yeah, it really was." Doppel said, crossing her arms. She didn't look hung over either. "Listen Axel, just because you were the first to receive her Christmas hug doesn't mean you need to spread the cheer."

"Of course, it does. If I have to suffer, then so does everyone else!" Axel grinned. "Got it memorized?"

"It can be quite scary." Manako whispered, pushing past everyone and moving into the house. She was quickly followed by Doppel.

Axel and Xion stood outside the house for a couple moments before Axel shivered. "I hate the cold." He said, about to enter the house before Xion grasped his sleeve.

"Hold on…" She said, fishing something out of her pocket.

"What's up?"

"Here!" Xion said, holding out a little package. "Merry Christmas."

"…"

Axel swore he felt a little surprised by the sudden act…Nah! That was impossible.

"A gift? For me? Awe, you shouldn't have." Axel said in his sarcastic voice. "What is it?"

"Why don't you open it and find out?"

Axel took the present from Xion and juggled it in his hands. He glanced down at the puppet to see her eyes locked directly onto his eagerly and hopefully. This was the first time the poor girl had given a gift to someone and really wanted to see how it went.

It was adorable and sad at the same time.

Ripping off the paper, Axel stared down at the object in his hand. He didn't have a clue as to what it was supposed to be.

"What's this?"

"I'll tell you…"

* * *

It was a few moments later that Axel and Xion entered the kitchen, only to see Roxas flailing like mad to get out of Tio's grasp. She was laughing joyfully, completely oblivious to his suffering as she twirled him around before coming to a halt. That did give Roxas the chance to escape and bolt into the living room. Tio simply smiled happily as she went down the line of people and also gave them her specific brand of holiday cheer.

The rest of the day was just as fun. With the addition of MON, the place became even livelier…if that was possible. The party went on until late in the evening when everyone was stuffed full of food and drink. No one had any energy anymore, so Kimihito had the idea to plop in a Christmas movie so everyone could watch and relax.

By this time, MON had left after the food was gone, so it was just the Kurusu residence that remained. Polt had decided to retire early because she was opening the Gym tomorrow for anyone who wanted to work off their Christmas dinner. Pyra and Yukiko lagged behind, probably to spend the night as they were too full and tired to move.

Since everyone was on the verge of a food coma, it was easy for most of the household to fall asleep during the movie. Roxas, Pyra, and Yukiko also dosed off, sleeping comfortably on the couch before the show could end.

When the movie was finally over, everyone except Suu, Xion, and Kimihito were asleep. Kimihito was working to put everyone to bed, while Xion retreated to her room to grab a few things. After all, Roxas wasn't the only one who grinded the past week to get presents for everyone.

She waited until Kimihito was done taking everyone to their rooms before she pulled out her presents. After she was done, she plucked Roxas's Santa hat off his head and placed it on her own before calmly waking her three slumbering friends. Suu was sitting by, just watching.

"Huh…what?" Yukiko rubbed her eyes as she sat up from the couch. She gave a long yawn and stretched her arms to the sky.

"Who *Yawn* What's up Xion?" Pyra asked, also sitting up from her comfortable position. "What are you waking me up for?"

Roxas's eyes fluttered open before he rubbed the sleep out of them.

Xion looked a little embarrassed and shy as she held out four packages to them.

All four friends stared at the presents for a few seconds before glancing up at Xion. She had a soft smile on her face as she nodded. "Merry Christmas."

"So, not only did Roxas get us all something, but you did too?" Pyra accused, as she reached out and took the package with her name on it.

"I thought we agreed that we wouldn't get each other presents." Yukiko said as she took hers.

"No…we agreed that no one would have hard feelings if we didn't get presents for each other." Xion reminded. "No one said anything about not getting presents period."

"This was why you were busy all week…" Roxas said, looking down at the packaged in his hands.

Xion nodded bashfully. "We were both busy."

"Wow…" Yukiko glanced over at Pyra with a challenging smirk. "It's on next year! I'll get everyone the best gifts ever!"

"It's not a competition." Pyra laughed as she juggled Xion's gift in her paw. "But seriously, you two really set the bar high."

"Suu get's another present!? This is the best day ever!" She said, taking the package with her name on it. Xion held one last present in her hand, which was actually meant for herself.

Roxas looked at his package before slowly tearing off the paper. Suu, Pyra, Xion, and Yukiko did the same. With the paper out of the way, a star-shaped object landed in each of their hands. They were all identical in shape and design, but their colors were different. Each star was made out of stained glass and had a silver trim that connected each piece. The middle of the star had a beautiful design.

Pyra's was black, Yukiko's was white, Suu's was deep blue, Roxas's was green, and Xion's was purple. This little trinket actually looked very familiar to Roxas, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Where had he seen this before?

"Wow…" Yukiko said, gazing down at the little white star in her hand.

"What is it?" Pray asked curiously. It was really pretty, especially the design in the middle of the star, which was encrusted in gleaming silver.

"They're called Wayfinders." Xion said. "I don't know why, but the design really stuck out to me."

That's when Roxas's eye lit up. He remembered seeing similar Wayfinders in his most recent dreams of someone other than Sora…someone who looked exactly like Roxas. These new memories were much vaguer and more scattered that his memories of Sora, so it was difficult to piece together what they meant.

Glancing up at Xion, he also knew that she received fleeting thoughts and memories of the same things because she was a puppet designed to copy him. To a point, she also saw the things he saw, but it was much, much more limited.

Looking down at the Wayfinder, he was surprised how accuracy she got the design down. She must have also asked the Moogles for help too.

"I wanted…" Xion said, looking down at her own Wayfinder. "I wanted all of my friends to have one. I even gave one to Axel…and Kii…Even though Kii didn't really want it…she eventually took it after some convincing."

Suu was staring at hers and something clicked in her mind. "It looks like the Paopu fruit." She said with excitement.

"The what?" Yukiko asked.

"It's actually based off of that…I think." Xion said, scrunching her eyebrows.

Roxas also knew this because of the new memories, but this was Xion's present. It would be best for her to explain.

"According to legends, there is a certain fruit that if shared between two people, their lives are connected…forever." She said warmly as she looked up at her friends. "I made these because…our friendship is precious to me. So, no matter what happens, or where Roxas and I might go in the future…" She paused, allowing them to understand what she was talking about. "We'll always be connected and find our way back."

"…"

By this time, tears were sliding down Yukito's face as she looked back down at her beautiful Wayfinder. It wasn't just a piece of stained class with sliver trimming, but a symbol of their friendship. An unbreakable bond she shared with the rest of her friends who brought her out of the darkness of her own despair.

Pyra was trying to remain strong, but even she had to look away to save her dignity. Did she ever think she'd have this strong of a connection with other people?

No.

In Hell, no one formed strong bonds with each other. But on the surface, there were people who cared about her. People who loved her company. People who would consider their group of friends incomplete if she wasn't around. This little trinket was proof of that.

Words could not describe how happy Suu was. This was her first Christmas and already she was so happy that she was about to burst.

Roxas bit his lower lip became he also found his eyes wet. After believing it was impossible to feel at all, it was still amazing to realize he too could be overcome with emotion. This little item in his hand felt like the symbol of his connection, and proof that he really did exist.

"Geeze…" Pyra said, rubbing her eyes. "Is bro cutting onions in the kitchen?"

"X-Xion…" Yukiko said, her eyes big and watery. She flew off the couch and tackled the puppet to the ground. She squeezed the life out of her. "It's perfect! Thank you so much!"

"Y-You all like it?" Xion asked. She felt a swell of happiness when she realized how her gift was affecting the others.

"We do." Pyra said quietly. "This, is nice…"

"Thank you Xion…" Roxas said, giving her a grateful smile. "It's awesome."

"Suu loves hers too! Suu never knew she could be this happy." The Slime said, joining Xion and Yukiko for a group hug.

Pyra and Roxas glanced at each other before giving a small chuckle. They also stood from the couch and joined in.

For the remainder of the night, this little group of friends simply enjoyed the remnants of their first Christmas together…

One of many that would come throughout the years…

…Hopefully…

* * *

 **Authors Note: What is wrong with me? This chapter is huge…HUGE. 27k words! 61 damn pages for a Christmas special! It took forever to write! AUGHH…Well, it took me hours and hours to write, but I think it came out in a timely manner, even if it's now after Christmas. I just couldn't stop and had so many ideas floating around in my head of what this chapter could be like. So, this chapter is my present to you, the readers. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **And add to the fact that I wrote a 14k word chapter for My Hunter Academia this month and I've totaled about 41k words for the month of December …that's like half a novel for two damn chapter! Holy crap, what is wrong with me?**

 **If you hadn't notice, this chapter was pretty much all fluff and sappy dialogue. But what do you expect from a Christmas Special? Sorry if some of it seemed redundant, but it's hard coming up with so many scenarios without a couple overlapping in some parts. Forgive me! I'm tired!**

 **Thank you all for another wonderful year of Fanfiction. Now, would you honor me with the gift of a Review? That would be the best Christmas present ever! 1000 Review Goal!**

 **Merry Christmas and happy new year!**


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